I just became aware of this article via Dr. Ken Pope’s wonderful mail list.
Clark Kauffman reports:
University of Iowa Hospitals is giving patient names and specific patient-treatment information to a fundraising organization that solicits donations through written appeals signed by physicians.
Officials with both the hospital and the privately run University of Iowa Foundation say they have no ethical concerns with the campaign.
Patient advocates, however, say the fundraising seeks to take financial advantage of patients who feel indebted to their doctors for their medical treatment.
“If people actually knew this sort of thing was going on, there would be a significant number of them disturbed by it,” said Dr. Michael Carome of Public Citizen, a national advocacy group with 80,000 members. “The fundamental practice is exploitative … and in my view there is no way to make this work in a way that would be ethical.”
Read more in the Des Moines Register. It’s a very informative piece that goes beyond this hospital’s practices and explores under what conditions this approach is viewed as legal and ethical under HIPAA, even without your explicit consent.