If a pharmacy tech yelled out the name of medication you were taking, can the pharmacy be sued?

grapelady911

get over it. This is why health care is so damn expensive, they all have to pay insurance against frivolous and stupid law suits. grow up and stop looking for an easy buck.

Lea

No. What the pharmacy tech did was against protocol, but the pharmacy should not be sued. If you are sensitive about the pharmacist/pharm techs stating the name of your drugs out loud, just ask the pharmacist to put a note in your record stating you don't want the drug name stated out loud.

midnight star

you are an idiot.

Spirit Walker

What meds are you ashamed of? Just whisper it to Connie Chung, she won't tell anybody else.

Naming a medication isn't libel or slander,unless they also add an insult or slur,such as ,"Viagra for the loser with the bifocals".

tkquestion

Can they be sued? Sure.... you can sue anybody for any reason. Can you win? That's for the judge to decide.

If you are suing, you are accusing the defendent, they either committed a crime or somehow you were damaged. What crime would this be, and what damage did you receive?

You can argue that your medical record is private and that the pharmacist neglected his duty to keep this information confidential. For this, you *might* win. But for lack of any tangible damage, you may be awarded a dollar. (this happens when someone violates the rule, so the judge has to rule in yoru favor, but only technically so and the damage is absent... punitive damage)

One thing is for sure.... due to any documented loss, you cannot take this kind of case to a small claims court. That means, you will need a lawyer to take the case to the court, which means it will cost you quite a bit of money, as most respectable lawyer will not take a case like this on contingency. They will want cash for their services.

Is it feasible to even consider this? Probably not.

jennifer

I was a pharmacy technician and we were always told to speak softly to customers about their medication because it was a confidentiality thing. I don't know if you can sue them, but I would talk to the pharmacist or manager of the pharmacy you were at. I know this was something the pharmacists took very seriously at my pharmacy.

Ralfcoder

I doubt it. Can you show that you were harmed in any way?

The Chesire Cat

no, you cant really sue them.This happens all the time in pharmacies, especially if they are communicating with each other ( the employees ) in a busy pharmacy..

If you are offended, switch to a small pharmacy and go get your scripts filled tuesday - thursday between 10 and 2 when they are least busy..

East of Eden

You would have to prove harm, which in this case would be very hard, time consuming and expensive. This is the reason medical costs are so high...junk lawsuits. And I can tell you having worked in the legal field, not even the sleeziest ambulance chasing lawyer will take this one.

The best thing for you to do, would be to talk to the offending person, and the head pharmasist and remind them of the privacy laws that by law are to be posted in the pharmacy, and their duty to abide by them.

You seriously need to re-think the whole lawsuit idea, people make mistakes, and the best way to correct them is not in court but by reminding them of the things they should be doing.

jloertscher

Obviously something happened, but you aren't providing specifics. The answer is possibly, but HIGHLY unlikely.

Byron R

WHO CARES?

sciencegeek+

i doubt it but ask a lawyer.

Christopher L

only p

Did he yell Valtrex or Herpecin. Are you ashamed. No there is no legal action you can take. He/she did nothing wrong.

arthur

Did you forget to take your medicine before asking this question?

spelling nazi

Get over it. Are you trying to get somebody fired?? Think about that!! We all do stuff we wish we hadn't done! The tech probably realized his/her mistake immediately. Give them a break.

robertspraguejr

Everybody is suing everybody else these days. Businesses spend about half their own money protecting themselves from possible lawsuits. Just buy your medicine from another pharmacy, Einstein!

Goose&Tonic

OMG. GET OVER IT.

You can sue anyone, but it is likely that you will get laughed out of court. The point of suing is to address ACTUAL HARM. You were not harmed in any way from this slip-up, were you? And if you're that embarrassed about your herpes medication, perhaps you should have been more careful in the first place.

nobleicus

yes they can be sued those places are suppose to follow the HIPPA rule which means all infomation is suppose to be private if it is broken the person may lose his/her job and the pharmacy should be fined

macdoodle

you'd ahve to prove you were damaged.

its wrong but none knows who you are... soo.
i'd definately write to corporate and name the employee if oyu can and keep a copy.

if it was amentalhealth med contact nami.
www.nami.org

check on HIPPA law.
www.hhs.gov/

www.firstgov.gov

its rude and bad business ,if nothing else!

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