I belong to another board also,,

And I had posted on there about a verbal approval for insurance etc and just had to wait for Dr appnt and him to say yes and I would have an official approval and I had stated in there that I did ALLLL the foot work etc with an LOL after that, only meaning that I got it all done and the process would be sped up....

Well the moderator wrote back a few times and seemed to be "hostile" or not liking me or something. Several people wrote to me asking me what I did to PO that person.

Well here is the part,,, Get this,

The Moderator of that board copied the post I wrote, same one is on here also, and sent it to my DR, and told him that "I was not going to be compliant, I just know it", The moderators own words, How do I know this? The copy of the email was right there in my chart while the nurse took my family history...Today was the first time I had a consultaion with my DR...

How do you like that?

So I was going to confront that Moderator at the Hospital and tell how much I was offended etc. But I saw the Director if Nursing's office first and voiced my feelings to her instead. The bad part is I am not the only one this person has acted this way towards. And I was emailed about that... I wish I had saved the emails, dang it.... I told the director I am not trying to make waves or anything, but it was plain wrong! and I felt violated and offended,. I also stated that I dont want to get rejected now or treated like POO POO, because of this and she assured me I wont be,,,,

She is going to be talking with both this person and my Dr.... ANd she told me to call her when I get to the Hospital and she herself would check in on me etc.. She was very very nice to me.....

My friend also hopes I didnt just "talk my way out of a surgeon" Black Balled,,,lol

Man,,, some people...... Here I am so excited about this procedure only to get treated that way.

That moderator blows!

Firstly, she had no business communicating to your physician in that manner. He didn't ask her to, and you didn't ask her to. She was being meddlesome - and interjecting a belief based on a few free flowing comments.

I didn't see that you had to be cleared for the surgery by a moderator of a chat room - did you?

Does she have a degree in psychology or nutrition? Has she ever examined you? Has she performed any objective tests on you? Has she met you, or seen you?

Every good clinician knows you need to examine the person, use objective data, before you can make any sort of statement like that.

She's decided she knows better than your Ph.D or MD - BTW - where did she say she went to college? Did she?

Have you let the board know that this happened to you? No nasty bitch posts (that would be my first incliniation - but not the best). I mean - just saying that you wrote something, and when you went for your initial patient visit - your post on the web was in your chart - as long as a note from the moderator stating you wouldn't make a very good candidate.

That might tighten the noose around her neck a bit - she'll react if she's anything like her posts lead me to believe. But don't take the bait - only give objective data without any subjective feeling UNLESS you say it like this...

when you....(fill in the blank) I felt.....(fill in the blank with a feeling).

example

When you sent my post to my phsysician and told him I wouldn't be a good candidate, I felt sabataged.

you get the meaning.

Anyhow - she blows - big nasty chunks!

That moderator is a Nurse and head of the bariatric center in the Hospital....

I talked to the supervisor and we will see what is stated....

What a way to bust my bubble a bit huh....

But Soon I will be in Weight-loserville,,,,,,,,,,,,

Obviously that moderator works for your Dr.

It is a known factthat many of the moderators on other boards represent other Dr.'s

She had no right and I would take legal action, she needs to be stopped!

Wow, what an unpleasant situation! Did you know your conversations were being monitored by people responsible for your healthcare? It's hard to call it a violation of "privacy" when there is nothing really private on the net, but it certainly seems like a huge violation of something and not very professional behavior.

Almost every single board I belong to has a very firm privacy policy. Posts are NEVER to be forwarded, copied, posted elsewhere, etc. ...

Perhaps you should click on (or ask for a copy of) that board's privacy policy, and then point out to the board members, the moderator and the list owner that the moderator is violating the very policies she's supposed to be enforcing.

I would also ask that she not be responsible for your surgical care or after care in any way shape or form since she's shown herself to have a predisposed bias against you and a problem with handling sensitive information inappropriately. You might also hint to the surgeon that you're thinking of taking your business and your insurance dollars elsewhere because of her. That there are plenty of other weight loss surgery bulletin boards you subscribe to with reference lists of the good docs and the bad ones. After all, it is their bread and butter. They know how damaging a few bad posts can be. And, as long as you post it as "your opinion", you cannot be sued for it! You're a lot more in the driver's seat than you think. They are a SERVICE organization after all.

While I agree with Alexandra, nothing is private on a bulletin board on the net, that board (I assume) is supposed to be a place to go to for support, not to be informed on.

I wouldn't post any personal thoughts there again if I were you. And I would let them know why in no uncertain terms in your goodbye post.

Out of all the gin joints in all the world ...

oops, sorry, wrong line ...

of all of the boards I've ever belonged to, I have to say the people on this one are kind, positive supportive and encouraging to each other and to newbies like no other board!

Boys am I mouthy tonight, or what:-)

Cheers,

LizzyD

If she's the head of the bariatric program, and she's an RN AND she works for your physician - she should definately be held to a higher level of accountability.

I am an RN, and I am a PATIENT ADVOCATE - I work in the surgery area - pre op - and I ADVOCATE FOR PATIENTS - not against them.

Actually - all nurses are patient advocates (or are supposed to be). Meaning - what is in the best interest of my patient - is what I stump for. I will butt heads with a department, call any sort of support system in the hospital to get the services and support that my patient needs.

She is NOT acting as an advocate - and I am disgusted at her ethics.

If, she is acting in a medical capacity she violated your privacy. I can sit in a patients room - while the patient discloses sensitive personal information to all of their visitors I cannot repeat ANY OF THAT INFORMATION, to anyone that she has not designated me to. Her visitors however, are only bound by their own morals, and could repeat any of her medical and personal information without fear of repercussion (meaning - this RN is held to a higher level of accountability).

By being in a hospital - I can disclose information to HER physician and those CARING for her. However, your moderator disclosed information to a physician who you had not even seen.

She was not advocating FOR you - she was (lord - I have no idea what she was doing).

She wasn't encouraging the physician to discuss with you what she felt was an area of concern - she was critical, and discouraging.

MOST nurses are not like this - and this is highly innappropriate - can you email me privately on this matter.

The moderator doesnt work for the DR, but for the Hospital right next to his Office.

For the time being I am going to wait and see what the director of nursing says. As she is supposed to talk to both the Nurse/Moderator and also the Dr.

But I will be leaving that board most likely, its not the people on there it is the Moderator. Which is also the one that does the orientations and helps with the Seminars.

I really do like the surgeon and his office etc. And I am just waiting for the final approval for him from my Insurance co....But I am going to refuse to let her anywhere near me...

Thanks for letting me vent on here.... I love all of your replies...

Here is the copy of privacy disclaimer

Looks like she shared with a 3rd party,,,,

At Palms of Pasadena Hospital, we strongly believe that every Web user is entitled to know in advance just how his or her personal information may be used in the course of securing medical information online. Because your privacy is very important to us, we've established these principles regarding your right to choose whether to be contacted, and how your personal information may be used by us when you provide it on the Obesity site. </SPAN>

We do not sell, rent or share your personal information with third parties for any purpose. </SPAN>

Our site includes an online registration form that request contact information, such as your name and e-mail address, in exchange for providing you with access to specific information about Weight Loss Surgery. Unless you indicate otherwise at the time you provide this information, we may use your personal information to contact you with updates regarding our site, seminars and literature pertaining to the Gastric Bypass procedure. </SPAN>

We may use the data you provide to tailor your experience on our site, to display content we think may be of particular interest to you, or to enable us to customize what you see when you visit our site in accordance with your preferences. </SPAN>

Where we request personal information, you can opt not to be contacted by us. If you ask not to be contacted, we will honor your choice, and your preference for privacy will not prevent you from having access to specific information or special features in the future. </SPAN>

Our Web site has security measures in place to prevent against loss, misuse or alteration of the personal information we gather. Access to our servers and server logs is restricted to authorized personnel who are responsible for upholding this privacy policy.</SPAN>

Well that is an inexcusable thing for her to do, but you know what I find ironic about the whole thing is her statement that she just knew you would not be compliant. Excuse me but, NO SHIT SHERLOCK--NONE of us are compliant! (Okay, maybe there's some exception out there, but I doubt it.)

COMPLIANT?

Maybe sometimes and maybe all the time for a period of time but COMON! If we were able to just control our eating habits we wouldn't need to have an OPERATION to get this band sqeezed around our gut! The whole point of this thing is, it pretty much forces compliance! The first time I had a 20 minute PB, I swear for the first 15 minutes of it I just wanted it to be over so I could eat some more. It took that last 5 minutes (& not knowing how long it was going to last) to finally kill my appetite for awhile.

Anyway, ask me how I reeally feel about it.

Most hospitals have a sort of "internal affairs" officer, who is responsible to ensure that not only the hospital's internal rules are followed, but any State or Federal regulations that may apply. Typically these administrators function with great power in the institution and have little interference from any source within the hospital. Most hospitals call this person the corporate compliance officer, or something similar. If the facility is large enough, there may be an entire office of that does nothing but internal affairs or internal audit.

This person is generally viewed as a really safe person to talk to because the mission that they have is strictly maintain confidentiality when possible and investigate & fix the problem if there is one. They will not be the one to schmooze you over or try to make it go away quietly.

In addition, almost every hospital has a "privacy officer", this person is responsible for ensuring that Federally mandated privacy rules are complied with and that the staff and patients are properly trained and informed. Sometimes the privacy officer and the compliance officer are the same person.

I just tripped over this on your hospital's website:

Palms of Pasadena Hospital

Attn: Facility Compliance / Privacy Officer

1501 Pasadena Avenue South

Saint Petersburg, Florida 33707

727-341-7524 (Voice)

727-341-7018 (Fax)

If you really want to see some wheels spin, call this person and start the conversation with, "I beleive my privacy was violated by one of your staff members."

Trust me, a statement like that in the healthcare setting sets off all sorts alarms.

Sue!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IVAN is absolutely correct, and the advise is right on. Call them, say that. You are protected by a federally mandated privacy act called HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996). The RN involved is in direct violation of that act.

Holy Crap what a HUGE violation!! Who among us hasn't had some moments of self doubt! Why are you expected not to have self doubt!!! GRRRRRRRR GET EM GIRL!

Whats that HIPPA LAW all about??(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) Check out this link http://www.hipaaps.com/main/whoIsAffected.html Its all about HIPPA.. You would think being in the health care industry she would know a little bit about this! You can't call a doctors office without being reminded of this law!!!!!

I also found this out ... CHECK OUT NUMBER FOUR

The HIPAA legislation had four primary objectives:

1. Assure health insurance portability by eliminating job-lock due to pre-existing medical conditions
   
2. Reduce healthcare fraud and abuse
   
3. Enforce standards for health information
   
4. Guarantee security and privacy of health information
   

All right, I could go on and on and on with this....

Good luck to you and dont tolerate this violation!!!

TTYL

Right now I just wanna wait til I get my surgery done... Dont wanna do too much damage...

The only other thing is they didnt send any "health" info, just contacted my Dr that I hadnt seen yet and sent them the post and their opinion of me not going to be compliant...

I understand how you feel about not risking your surgery, I'd feel the same way. I hope you are able, after the surgery, to provide a detailed account of this nurses behavior. If she did it so easily to you - she's probably done it before, and won't stop until someone makes sure she does.

I do worry that time will dilute this matter, and it's freshness give you a unique opportunity to pressure for changes in this area.