OT Get this:

Next time you could google "email to fax".

No.

Of course not. They'd get millions of e-mails. Who would read them?

Your credit card company has a web site. You can enroll there if you haven't already done so, and there are numerous ways to contact them.

Oh, that's right. Several other doctors have that. They used to just let people email but they've changed to that for some reason.

But this doctor doesn't have it. He has a Contacdt Us page but all it has is phone number, fax number, and postal address.

Yeah, I've used that. Probably still have an account. But I don't want to use it for something important. Who knows what happens if the FAX bounces. Anyhow, it's stupid of them not to have email or at least a webform and I wanted to point that out. Also the secretary didn't seem to think of email to fax. I'd much rather email her work email address and I don't see why either she or the doctor should mind.

Numerous but insufficient.

A phone number and a postal mailing address, that's all they have, at least the CC I wonted to write to. I have more than one cc but the one I wanted to reach has pages to change a PIN, acctivate a card, report lost of stolen card, replace a card, add user, lock or unlock a card, but no way to tell them something else.

When I was in Greece and my cc was stolen, I couldn't cancel it for 36 hours. When I called, it said the system was down, and when I found a computer to use, it said the same thing and did so for 36 hours. Eventually I cancelled and afaict, there were no charges before then, but I wanted to point out the problem they made for me, and themselves, complain to them that they should have separate systems for cancelling stolen credit cards, systems that do only that one thing so there would be no need to take them down weekly, or ever. It appears their cancellation method is just part of their whole system which does have to be taken down every week, which in this case lasted 36 hours.

So finally I told the woman who answers the phone at the cc company, but it's next to impossible for me to test whether they ever fixed it. I'd have to report my card stolen or lost, and even if it worked, I wouldn't know if that was because their system wasnt' down at that time.

Next time I log into another cc card website I'll see if they have a way to write to them.

"Hey doc, what's up" is ok. "Hey doc, what are my results" is not. Faxing is HIPPA compliant, email is not considered secure.

BTW, he's a sole practioner, except I think he has a podiatrist or something in the same office. So he doesn't share the costs of setup with a dozen other doctors. OTOH, having an email address doesn't involve much setup, esp if you have a webpage! He used to have another urologist, but he left and according to more than one webpage, he works at the same practice where my internist works, but they don't have him listed!!

I would think a regular email system would be digital enough. i wonder if the portal vendors are selling it as if it's required even if email is sufficient. Or maybe it's part of a package, get our portal and you get our webforms too.

I don't like the portal email system because a) it's harder to send a copy to my brother, a doctor, or anyone else. b) if I compleined about something or told them about a symptom, and they ignored what I said and committed malpractice and I suffered for it, I would expect them to delete the messages I sent them informing them. The last time I said this somewhere, someone replied that that's against the rules, illegal. Of course it's against the rules but I'd expect it anyway** OTOH if I used email, the email company would have a record that I wrote them.

Everyone should wait and expect a scandal like I just described within

That would be a very significant difference.

I took your last line and googled it.

It seems so far that *some* faxing is HIPAA compliant

This website needs careful reading:

This one is also curious:

I haven't read these yet, and I may not have time for days, but I wanted to say that it seems complicated. I'll look for opposing views too.

I'm sure medical privacy is important for many people, but I don't see how it matters to me. I don't have a job for which anyone would blackmail me. No one cares about my health except my family, and they're not going to hack me and even if they did I don't mind.

How did patient privacy get to be so important?

My doctor(s) are part of a medical group. That medical group has a web site and that web site has a secure patient portal. I contact my doctor(s) via that patient portal.

They don't use email to communicate with their patients because it's not secure. I don't use email to communicate with them because it's not secure, and because they don't use email so I couldn't even if I wanted to.

If my doctor suggested I use email to communicate with them I'd think hard about switching to a more tech-literate doctor.

Same as above, but each of my CC companies has a web site that gives multiple ways to contact them, including a Chat option. I generally use chat, but over the years I've also called now and then. Email isn't an available option, thankfully.

I saw this man for the first time 16 days ago. No portal!

Most of the urologists in this town, even at different hospitals, are in the same practice, and the doctor I had seemed okay (until something I learned this past month**) but the practice had many ways to annoy me. Like the time I wanted to leave a message for the doctor -- I think I was in pain -- and the secretary said, We can't take messages because of HIPAA. Huh?

So I went to JOhns Hopkins and that doctor was also okay, but when I needed a procedure, they were unsatisfactory. I'll save that story for later.

This current guy and the other one in the same office seem to be just about the only independants on the north, west or center of Baltimore. Now that I have an email address, which I'll probabl never need again, so far, I'm happy with him.

And how would you feel if he wanted you to FAX him?

I guess the lack of a portal means I wouldn't be able to look at my medical records either, which I mostly need to do when I change doctors and the new one asks me questions.

No chat at the urologist

I was sure there was no chat at the cc, but I looked again, just noticed it for maybe the first time after 10 years. A little rectangle in the bottom right. But when I was trying to report my lost credit card, I coudln't log in so there was no chat at that time. I guess I could have used it to complain later. The woman on the phone didn't suggest it either. I wonder if a chat that didn't relate to any current problem, only that their phone line and webpage were down when I wanted to cancel my credit card, if that would attract their attention.

. This is a midwestern bank. I think their software was written by John Deere.

Before the Internet was a thing, I think I left a message asking my doctor to call me, but I wouldn't have left any kind of message that includes personal medical info. I'm certainly not surprised to hear that the folks on the front desk aren't allowed to take those kinds of messages over the phone.

I've never heard of such a thing. One medical provider might use FAX to send info to another medical provider, but that kind of thing has never directly included me.

You might well choose not to, but if I chose to, I was clearly waiving any need for privacy wrt her. AFAIK I had no privacy from anyone in the office anyhow, and I didn't care. I think the message was just that I wanted him to call me, but it might have included some symptom that loads of people have and which doesn't embraass me.

I ended up sending a FAX with a cover sheet that said in BIG letters, I WAIVE ALL MY HIPAA RIGHTS.

Another time I was in some pain and it was Friday and I was afraid it would get worse over the weekend. I called, and she said "[Your doctor] isn't in" Silence, no suggestion of an alternative plan, like perhaps another doctor. What is the benefit of a non-sole practitioner if they don't back each other up. Just a savings to them?

So I insisted and she said, "You can come in". So I do and they the guy asks me, "On a scale of 1-10, how much pain are you in?" I said "maybe

Yes, very strange.

My printer does have FAX, but I have to connect it to the phone line, and the phone jack I put in the spare bedroom no longer works because phone serive now is from the optical internet, FIOS, and the only jack is somewhere in this bedroom and the wires will get in the way.

They don't have an online chat? Crappy credit card company.

I just checked one of my two credit card's websites. There is a "report card lost/stolen" link.

E-mail isn't secure. Never send anything through e-mail that you wouldn't put on a billboard.

You've been outvoted. Complaining that you can't use e-mail won't do you any good. It's either a portal, fax, telephone, or U.S. Mail.

They don't set up systems for you. They set up systems for everyone, including those who don't want their medical matters sprayed all over Creation.

It's always been important. They made a law about it in 1996. That's nearly three decades ago. You should be used to it by now.

They do now, but I'm not sure about 4 years ago. I didn't notice the little thing in the corner and the woman on the phone didn't suggest it, even though we discussed the problem of her getting everything right t hat I said. But she read it back to me and she did get everything right.

They had that, but I couldn't get past the login page for 36 hours.