A relative’s doctor’s practice just got acquired by one of these private-equity-backed profit-hungry medical chains.
I went with him to an appointment. As a condition of checking in to see his doctor, on a silly tablet at the office, he had to sign away his HIPAA rights for them to sell his charts, along with his identity information, to advertisers or any other third parties. I was beside myself.
Wasn’t long afterward before he started seeing insultingly specific (but medically incorrect) prescription drug ads, almost exclusively, on his TV service.
> As a condition of checking in to see his doctor, on a silly tablet
As with QR codes in restaurants, reception tablets with NDA boilerplate, or electronic security scanners, declining to use an electronic device can lead to the magical appearance of a manual alternative, where lines of text on paper can be crossed out manually before signing and taking a photo for your records.
This is because the consent (of 99% who will not decline) is only valid if the 1% who choose to decline can actually do so. If everyone is forced and it's literally impossible to decline consent, then none of it is consent, and they may as well omit the text and do whatever they want anyway. The act of asking consent for ridiculous terms is actually quite positive, if one ignores the implied pressure of a silicon wrapping.
Well, they can always refuse service, but now their refusal is linked specifically to the crossed-out lines, an action that can lead to various paths. If the deleted lines are known by them to be overreaching, they are economically better off to provide service and earn revenue, instead of losing 100% of revenue and appointment slot to a minor technicality worth much less.
the way it works with a contract, you can always choose to remove clauses - but the other party has to agree to it too. they might acquiesce if for example, they think denying you service might actually lead to a lawsuit that would point out their illegal behaviour.
Healthcare providers or institutions may require a patient to sign certain forms related to the treatment or payment process (like consent forms for treatment or payment authorization), but these forms cannot waive the patient's fundamental rights under HIPAA. If a patient feels coerced into signing anything, they can refuse or ask for clarification before signing. If they don't want to sign, it shouldn't prevent them from receiving care, although certain administrative procedures (like billing or insurance claims) might be impacted.
