Julia Filip reports on a lawsuit in Alabama:
The family of a 97-year-old Alzheimer’s patient claims a caretaker did a lap dance for the demented man and posted the video on YouTube, invading his privacy and inflicting outrage, shame and humiliation for the purpose of entertainment.
The Donaldson family sued Mount Royal Towers nursing home, of Vestavia Hills, in Jefferson County Court.
The family’s grandfather, W.R., lives at the home, which provides care for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. His family claims that “while Mr. R. was in the social area of defendant’s facility on or about June 5, 2011, a nurse and/or certified nursing assistant gave Mr. R. a ‘lap dance.’
“Due to Mr. R.’s medical condition he could not consent to the ‘lap dance.’
“Moreover, the ‘lap dance’ was captured on video and posted on YouTube without Mr. R.’s or his family’s consent.
Read more on Courthouse News.
This has what? to do with healthcare data privacy?
Slow news day.
You don’t see a connection to patient privacy? Seriously? If a hospital uploaded a video of an employee interacting with a patient without the patient’s consent, would you also be so dismissive?
When my mother-in-law (RIP) was in a nursing home, we had to sign papers every time they had a part that involved pictures or video, giving permission for her image to be included. If we missed getting something signed, her picture wasn’t taken and they took pains to not have her face in the video.
Did they take it to an extreme? Yes. But, they also felt that it was important to have permission before they did anything that might expose their residents to unwanted attention.