Results were not given to my Father of his Echocardiogram. This is worrying me.
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I have a hereditary condition that can affect your heart so I have to have 5 yearly Echocardiograms by the NHS in England. I had one on Monday & as always I asked the technician how it looked. She said that she wasn't a doctor but everything was normal. This is my 4th Echo & each time the technician has given me a good idea of the results.
My Father who is 61 & also has the same condition as me had his first Echo today. I told him to ask for his results which he did. Apparently the technician also had his supervisor with him so maybe the technician was training? Anyway, when asked for his results the technician said to my father that he would write the results up but not to worry. This has me worrying now as I am sure if everything was normal he would have said that to my Father?
0 likes, 3 replies
peter01729 bflare78
Posted
If the fella had his supervisor with him, of course he wouldn't say anything to your Father as he could perhaps get into trouble for giving out medical interpretations he is not qualified to do, lot of people suing the NHS these days.
I think he did give you a clue to his views in his words, "not to worry", which does sound like good advice.
bflare78 peter01729
Posted
Thanks for your reply. Yeah this did cross my mind especially as he had his supervisor with him. The "not to worry" bit is slightly reassuring.
donald84133 bflare78
Posted
Hi :
I have had several imaging tests done in my life, ( CT Scan, MRI , etc. ) and the technician , who takes the test, has probably seen enough of these images to see an abnormality.I've asked the technician, when getting off the table, "well--how did it look?"I've had 15-20 of these types of image tests, and never has the technician given me an answer. They usually say something like, " a report will be transcribed by our doctor, and you will hearing from your doctor soon about the results".
The Hippa laws are clear. No information can be revealed about a patient's health. That is the responsibility of the patient's doctor, and must be authorized by the patient. The friendly technician, who has been giving you information about your past echocardiogram results is not following the law.
I would NOT want a technician telling me the outcome of a test, such as an echocardiogram, for fear that he/she might not give me ACCURATE results, and also, would lead me to wonder , "who else is the technician sharing MY medical information with?"
We've all read stories about celebrities, or movie stars, who were patients in well known hospitals of the Stars, , where hospital staff were in possession of health information, and sold it to TMZ or other tabloids, for financial gain. The guilty parties were dismissed from the hospital, and those cases went before the District Attorney for review, to see if charges could be filed.
I wouldn't worry about your father's experience of receiving NO information at the time of testing. I would, though worry if your Dad, DID INDEED receive information from a technician about the results of his echocardiogram. People have and will lose their jobs for sharing health information, as they do not have the authority to do so.
Best to call the Physician's office, and make an appointment, with your father present, so that he may get the results of his Echocardiogram.
My best,
Donald