Question by John M: Privacy and Group Counseling?
Recently during a court mandated group counseling session, a “therapist” disclosed personal information directly from my medical file to the entire group without my consent. Is this legal or ethical? Specifically, I was asked a question and responded with an answer she clearly didn’t like. She then said: “I’m curious” and then leaned over and picked up her files. After glancing through them she then stated in front of the entire group. “Yes, I see. You’ve been diagnosed as dependent on alcohol”. Needless to say, I was outraged and really let her have it. Should I bother filing a privacy violation complaint, or should I file an ethics complaint with the hospital, or should I just suck it up and be happy that I told her where to go?

Thanks!
Thanks for the response. I looked through the law and it looks as if it was a clear violation of the law found under Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records Regulation 42 CFR part 2.

Regards,

Best answer:

Answer by schazjmd
Do a search on HIPAA (or start here: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/ ) — it’s probably your best bet in getting your complaint taken seriously.

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