Dorothy Tillman Update: Vindication!

About a year ago, we read about about Dorothy Tillman’s heroic efforts to get a copy of her aunt’s  medical records.

Here’s a recap:  On a Saturday evening Dorothy took her 86 year old aunt to a hospital in Montgomery, Alabama. Frustrated after an overnight stay in the ER which she said yielded “little treatment”, she requested a copy of her aunt’s medical records before leaving. When she was told that it was hospital policy to request records “in writing”, Dorothy escalated her requests for the records. Refusing to leave without the records, she was brought to the floor by security guards and arrested on charges of  criminal trespassing.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Dorothy has been VINDICATED!

• The hospital dropped the charges of trespassing
• Dorothy’s attorney agreed she would not pursue a civil action against the hospital and “everything would be taken care of” by the settlement.

The point of the story:

We often don’t realize just HOW important health and medical information is for the welfare of ourselves and our loved ones.  Recognizing the value of this information, Dorothy was willing to go to jail for it.

Today under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, you have a “right” to get a copy of your medical records held by hospitals, doctors, health plans and others. Your care providers have up to 30 days to meet your request.

What good is that? 30 days??!!

Is a “right” really a right if you have no practical way of exercising that right?

What’s a better standard than "30 days"?  In today’s digital world, we must work toward a standard of "NOW!"

…and we’ll be thanking Dororty Tillman for helping bring us to our senses.