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Hope . . .

UHC and I have had the opportunity to talk recently. We discussed ways to resolve this situation. I'm really hopeful that we've come up with a solution, at least partially. I'm excited to report that UHC has made some wonderful improvements that I hope will help.

I believe that this solution will largely eliminate the problem, which is that UHC phone calls have been coming to me, in large volume and at all hours. Once the calls cease, I won't have any caller messages to post to UHC here.

Ever the optimist, I deleting old messages, as UHC has had time to retrieve any that they would like.

And the big news is: I don't have any new calls to post this morning! Son answered a UHC call yesterday afternoon, but we had NO UHC calls last night, nor so far this morning.

It will be so lovely to enjoy "relaxing at home" again. We're keeping our fingers crossed!

JCAHO

The JCAHO is the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospital Organizations. This organization draws upon experts across various healthcare disciplines to publish standards that hospitals should meet. The JCAHO also visits hospitals and evaluates their compliance with the published standards. If a hospital meets JCAHO standards, they may be accredited by the JCAHO.

The JCAHO standards include standards regarding communication. Here is a link to Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient-and Family-Centered Care A Roadmap for Hospitals

http://www.jointcommission.org/Advancing_Effective_Communication/

If you follow the link and scroll to page 21 of this publication, you will find the following guidance: "Use patient education materials that meet health literacy needs. Materials should be written at a 5th grade or lower reading level. Consider revising written materials to address the health literacy needs of all patients. Use readability tests, divide complex information into bullet points, and modify document font, layout, and design to improve readability." (footnote omitted)

Seems to me that sending hundreds of hospital phone calls to a private home would be evidence of a serious failure in the area of patient education. Wonder if UHC has considered revising their advertising to better serve their patients? I certainly hope so. It would be a shame if a hospital tried to blame its patients (or the innocent recipient of these hundreds of crazy calls), when it seems pretty clear that the hospital's advertising is failing everybody.

I truly hope that they will straighten this out. I'll update phone calls later, including the one that called at 1:30 Thursday morning. We've been out of town, just catching up . . .

#uhc #chisler

HIPAA

I am not a "covered entity" under the federal law that includes protections for the privacy of healthcare information. UHC IS covered under HIPAA. That means that UHC has some rules that they have to follow to protect healthcare information.

It seems like there is a bit of a dilemma here. Since I am not covered by HIPAA, this information is not "private" when it reaches me. Since UHC IS covered under HIPAA, the same information is likely "private" when the effort is made to communicate it to UHC.

So, how did this information lose its privacy?

Can you blame hundreds of telephone callers, all of whom are coincidentally dialing the same wrong number? Does it matter that they stop dialing that wrong number when UHC's website changes?

When UHC made a change to their website, ALL of the calls ceased. I let UHC know that the calls stopped, by posting in this blog. They changed the website back and the calls resumed.

If you blame UHC's website, with changes that correlate to stopping and starting the flow of calls, it would seem that UHC is responsible for sending callers to the wrong place to deliver their information.

If you say that it is mere coincidence that over 300 people have all called my home, then you have to blame each one of the 300+ callers individually. If you blame each caller for calling a wrong number, then the information never touches UHC, and it is therefore not health information.

Wonder if UHC would say that this information somehow "belongs" to them, or is "private?" If they do, aren't they inserting themselves, and/or their website, into the connection between the callers and my home? Wouldn't that make them responsible?

How would this be different from a hospital fax machine that sends records to a car repair shop? The hospital sets the fax machine speed dial number wrong, and employees innocently use the wrong number and transmit information.

In this instance, it seems like UHC has configured their advertising in a confusing manner, and callers may similarly use the wrong number and transmit information. It might have been an innocent failure to consider their audience when setting up their listings, but since I've told UHC about it (repeatedly), they KNOW it is happening.

I think that this question is one that requires greater expertise than I possess. I have contacted the Office of Civil Rights and requested clarification on this situation. I've already received an acknowledgment and am optimistic that they will be able to help. The OCR provides guidance and enforcement on HIPAA.

Perhaps the OCR will help UHC know how to proceed. If these hundreds of calls represent the hospital's "private" information, I hope they will stop sending the calls to me.

I suspect that UHC will take the position that they have nothing to do with these calls, and that the information is NOT "private" information. I am hopeful that the Office of Civil Rights will be able to inform both UHC and me on this issue.

#uhc #chisler

Privacy?

I'm still trying to find ways to encourage United Hospital Center of Clarksburg (Bridgeport?) to quit sending phone calls to my home. When the calls first started arriving, I contacted UHC and asked if they could highlight the area code in their phone listings. That was apparently too much trouble. Far easier to just let me handle their calls (over 300 to date).

Providing correct dialing information, hanging up, even blowing whistles hasn't done much to stop the flow of calls. The only thing that interrupted them was the week that UHC changed its "contact us" page. We celebrated nearly a week of peace and quiet in February, until UHC turned the flow of calls back on.

I keep trying to think of anyone who could help UHC see that it makes more sense for them to put area codes in red (or blue, I don't care) than it does for me to talk to hundreds of people who would rather talk to UHC.

Another possible lead in this continuing quest . . .

If a caller contacts UHC and shares information, UHC has an obligation to protect that information, because they are a hospital. Hospitals are "covered entities" under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA is afederal law that sets limits on the ways that "covered entity" healthcare providers can disclose health information.

I am not a "covered entity" under HIPAA, so those rules don't apply to me.

But if UHC, a "covered entity," knows that its website is sending phone calls to a stranger, that might be a form of disclosure by UHC. I think that computer glitches that send information to the wrong place have been a problem under HIPAA, so wouldn't a website be comparable to that?

In this instance, the UHC "covered entity" has actual knowledge that the information is being misdirected. They have expressly refused to correct the problem to prevent recurrence.

The HIPAA is enforced by the Office of Civil Rights. Information about filing a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights can be found at:

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/index.html

All of the information about HIPAA on the OCR's website suggests that the agency would be able to work with UHC to sort this out and recommend improvements.

Keeping my fingers crossed!

#uhc #chisler

Keeping up to date . . .

When I want to see how things are going at UHC, I've been visiting uhcwv.org. It appears that UHC can also be found at thenewuhc.com. This may be a redirect to the same website, but it was interesting to note, so I am passing it along.

#uhc #chisler

Hospital standards II

In a post a few minutes ago, I included content from the United Hospital Center website, including an e-mail address that appeared to be available for the filing of concerns with the JCAHO (Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospital Organizations).

I then visited the JCAHO's website and found a different e-mail address. In the interest of completeness, I include that second address, as well as some of the JCAHO's information about complaint reporting, here:

How to report a complaint

If you wish, you can remain anonymous. However, providing a name and either a U.S. mail or e-mail address allows us to contact you for additional information or clarifications, if needed. Should you decide to disclose your name and address, we will keep this information confidential, although we may disclose de-identified details to the organization in question in order to make our evaluation. According to Joint Commission policy, all staff at our accredited or certified organizations must be informed that they may make a complaint without fear of retaliatory actions from their organization.

To report the details about your complaint to The Joint Commission, use one of the following options:

Online:

Submit a new complaint.

Submit an update to a complaint. (You must have your complaint reference number)

E-mail: [email protected] Fax: (630) 792-5636 Mail: Office of Quality Monitoring The Joint Commission One Renaissance Boulevard Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois 60181

Summarize the issue in two pages or less and include the name and full address of the organization in question. For more information, call The Joint Commission’s toll free number, (800) 994-6610, available weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Central Time.

from: http://www.jointcommission.org/report_a_complaint.aspx

#uhc #chisler

Hospital standards

A hospital's new phone listing has resulted in hundreds of calls to a private home, complete with answering machine messages seeking healthcare. When the hospital changed its website, the calls stopped. The hospital changed the website back and the calls immediately resumed.

If you believe that the hospital has some further obligation to address this issue, here is some information from another part of United Hospital Center's own website:

Joint Commission standards deal with organizational quality of care issues and the safety of the environment in which care is provided. Anyone believing that he or she has pertinent and valid information about such matters may request a public information interview with the Joint Commission’s field representatives at the time of the survey. Information presented at the interview will be carefully evaluated for relevance to the accreditation process. Request for a public information interview must be made in writing and should be sent to the Joint Commission. The request must also indicate the nature of the information to be provided at the interview. Such requests should be addressed to: Division of Accreditation Operations Office of Quality Monitoring Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations One Renaissance Boulevard Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 Requests can also be faxed or e-mailed. Fax to 630-792-5636 E-mail to [email protected]

This is an excerpt of information found at http://www.uhcwv.org/detail.php?page_id=11

#uhc #chisler

Not working . . .

I started posting these messages for two reasons. First, I wanted to make sure that UHC knew that all these people were trying to call them, and that they had a mechanism to return the calls.

Second, I did not want to keep the problem a secret. I decided that placing the entire issue where it could prompt an evaluation of UHC's practices would be the right thing to do. It would also prevent me from keeping any secrets about this situation. I will not be a partner to UHC's poor manner of directing incoming calls, even to the extent that I will not hide the problem.

Sadly, this has not resulted in correction by UHC. I notified them of the problem in October. I informed them of this plan in December. I communicated with them in January, without resolution. In February, the problem appeared to be corrected. However, the correction was apparently accidental, and the problem returned in short order.

UHC apparently does not take any responsibility for the impact of its advertising. I cannot take responsibility for THEIR advertising. It is for that reason that I must simply turn over the results, as I have been doing. Despite my efforts to publicize the problem, I still got 2 phone calls at 1:30 this morning.

The only other thing I know to do is to look for mechanisms to hold UHC accountable to its callers through policy or regulatory means. I suspect that UHC is more knowledgeable about any such issues than I might be, but I am willing to learn.

Again, I refuse to position myself in a way that conceals UHC's decision to insert me between their switchboard and their patients. Therefore, if I am able to identify any mechanism(s) that would allow people to complain about UHC's handling of this situation, I will post contact information here. That will, once again, leave discussion of this matter between UHC and its callers.

I SO long to have peace and quiet restored for my home and family. I hope that you will support my efforts.

#uhc #chisler

Late Friday . . .

I think calling someone at 11:45 p.m. is a little rude, don't you?

#uhc #chisler

Curious . . .

I've recently obtained a document in which the UHC Public Relations Director reportedly claims that the phone listings on the UHC website are controlled by "an outside agency," implying that UHC can't fix what's broken in this situation.

Curiously, the same document reflects that UHC had the "agency" make some changes to correct misspellings. Sounds to me like the "agency" works at the direction of UHC.

Guess the real issue is . . . when will UHC start giving the "agency" guidance that will have a positive impact? And by "positive impact," I mean that UHC advertising will cease the intentional practices that have caused hundreds of intrusive calls to my home at all hours of the day and night.

They fixed it once, around mid-February, but they apparently were not committed to keeping it fixed. Guess that mean old "agency" wouldn't let UHC do the right thing.

Tuesday, Wednesday . . .

And guys, you need to settle this bill with IBM. This time it was Carmen that called, not Jean. She says you still owe them $10,709.39 and it sounds like they want their money. The invoice number she gave transposed two digits from Jean's earlier call, so maybe that's the problem. Carmen was calling about invoice # 9252901. You can call her back at 1-800-914-9764, ext. 653.

Hope you will take care of this, and have a great day.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday . . .

***ONE of these left a message: Hi, this is Jean calling from IBM, I'm looking for payment status on invoice #9259201 for $10,709.39, if you can please return the call the number's 1-800-914-9764 x 613.

The time stamp suggests this was either the Necco or South Amboy caller. I know you'll get it sorted out. Even without her specifying UHC, I can tell you with certainty that THIS one is NOT mine!

Have a great day!

Monday . . .

WVA Univeristy (that's how it shows on caller ID, for real): 304-293-1716

Fairmont General: 304-367-7100

Sorry if the 6 that I skipped are any that you need, but I can't be sure if they are yours or mine, too generic.

Happy Tuesday . . .

Fairmont General: 304-367-7100

Still Tuesday . . .

Brickstreet Ins: 304-941-1000

(uhm, this one's a repeater)

No message . . .

Trying to reach Mr. Carter . . .

Pharmacy Syst I: 614-766-9931

It continues . . .

At 2:05 A.M., call from WV Univ Hospital: 304-598-4140.

Sorry not to have passed it along sooner; I just wanted to get right back to sleep.

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