Not Going To Happen 'Cause I'm Not Harry Potter (Impossible Patron Requests)

[mmswm]

I have a very common last name and an insanely common first name.  I figured there would be more people with my name than that site computes, which was 1360.  Granted, that's still a lot, but having the most common first name for a female from the time the census started until the 1970's or so, I figured the number would be even higher.

[Onyx_TKD]

SIL#1 is getting those kind of calls from a medical billing company.  They want him to give them $800.  They say that because of HIPAA privacy rules, they cannot tell him who the doctor was, what was done, where it was done, or when it was done.  The ONLY information they will give him is that  somebody with HisFirstName HisLastName owes somebody money for doing something medically. 

He has had minor surgery in the recent past, but believes that he covered all of the copay bills that he was supposed to pay; his insurance was paying the lion's share of it.

So they're confident enough that this bill belongs to this specific HisFirstName HisLastName that they expect him to pay $800, but not so confident that they can tell him anything at all about his own (supposedly) medical treatment. Because of HIPAA. OK... 

If HIPAA forbids giving a patient information about that patient's own medical treatment, then doctor's appointments must get really confusing. 
Patient: "So should I be worried about this mole?"
Doctor: "I can't talk to you about any moles you may or may not have. That would be a violation of HIPAA."
Patient: "But it's my mole. The whole reason I made an appointment was to figure out if it's benign or not."
Doctor: "I can't discuss the reasons for my patients' appointments! HIPAA!"
Patient: "But, Doctor, I just want to know if this mole is dangerous. Does it need to be treated?"
Doctor: "I can't talk to you about that! HIPAA!!"
Patient: "Did you even look at it? Why did I bother coming?"
Doctor: "I can't talk to you about anything I might or not have looked at, or why you came to my office! That's what I've been telling you! Your medical privacy must be protected!! HIPAA!!! HIPAA!!!! HIPAA!!!!!"
Patient: "...Either you're going insane or I am."
Doctor: "Who told you that?!?"

[jedikaiti]

Elfmama: Tell SIL#1 to go to howmanyofme.com and look up how many people share his name.  So when the billing company calls he can say "there are X number of people in the US with that name, so unless you can provide proof this debt is mine I will not be paying." 

*there's 984 people with my name, and then another 1191 when using a slightly different spelling.  My SIL(same name different spelling) has ended up my credit report before(address she and my brother lived at was listed with mine)

If I use my spelling of "Katie" (that is, "Kaiti") I am the only person in the USA with my same first & last name. If I go with Katherine instead, I am one of 28. Cool!

[Free Range Hippy Chick]

If I use my spelling of "Katie" (that is, "Kaiti") I am the only person in the USA with my same first & last name. If I go with Katherine instead, I am one of 28. Cool!

OK, I'm not in the USA, I'm in the UK - but I tried this anyway. And in both my maiden name and my married name there's only me. I gave it the full name I use, Forename Maiden Name Married Name, and it had a conniption fit and fell over so I think it's fair to say there's only me in that too.

Why don't we have this in the UK? That's a cool site!

Kaiti, we must be the Specialest of Special Snowflakes!

[MummyPumpkin83]

If I use my spelling of "Katie" (that is, "Kaiti") I am the only person in the USA with my same first & last name. If I go with Katherine instead, I am one of 28. Cool!

OK, I'm not in the USA, I'm in the UK - but I tried this anyway. And in both my maiden name and my married name there's only me. I gave it the full name I use, Forename Maiden Name Married Name, and it had a conniption fit and fell over so I think it's fair to say there's only me in that too.

Why don't we have this in the UK? That's a cool site!

Kaiti, we must be the Specialest of Special Snowflakes!

Me too! I'm in Australia, there is "1 or fewer" people with my name in the US.

[LadyJaneinMD]

If I use my spelling of "Katie" (that is, "Kaiti") I am the only person in the USA with my same first & last name. If I go with Katherine instead, I am one of 28. Cool!

OK, I'm not in the USA, I'm in the UK - but I tried this anyway. And in both my maiden name and my married name there's only me. I gave it the full name I use, Forename Maiden Name Married Name, and it had a conniption fit and fell over so I think it's fair to say there's only me in that too.

Why don't we have this in the UK? That's a cool site!

Kaiti, we must be the Specialest of Special Snowflakes!

Me too! I'm in Australia, there is "1 or fewer" people with my name in the US.

Very cool site!   I am the ONLY person with my name in the whole US. 

[Mediancat]

SIL#1 is getting those kind of calls from a medical billing company.  They want him to give them $800.  They say that because of HIPAA privacy rules, they cannot tell him who the doctor was, what was done, where it was done, or when it was done.  The ONLY information they will give him is that  somebody with HisFirstName HisLastName owes somebody money for doing something medically. 

He has had minor surgery in the recent past, but believes that he covered all of the copay bills that he was supposed to pay; his insurance was paying the lion's share of it.

So they're confident enough that this bill belongs to this specific HisFirstName HisLastName that they expect him to pay $800, but not so confident that they can tell him anything at all about his own (supposedly) medical treatment. Because of HIPAA. OK... 

If HIPAA forbids giving a patient information about that patient's own medical treatment, then doctor's appointments must get really confusing. 
Patient: "So should I be worried about this mole?"
Doctor: "I can't talk to you about any moles you may or may not have. That would be a violation of HIPAA."
Patient: "But it's my mole. The whole reason I made an appointment was to figure out if it's benign or not."
Doctor: "I can't discuss the reasons for my patients' appointments! HIPAA!"
Patient: "But, Doctor, I just want to know if this mole is dangerous. Does it need to be treated?"
Doctor: "I can't talk to you about that! HIPAA!!"
Patient: "Did you even look at it? Why did I bother coming?"
Doctor: "I can't talk to you about anything I might or not have looked at, or why you came to my office! That's what I've been telling you! Your medical privacy must be protected!! HIPAA!!! HIPAA!!!! HIPAA!!!!!"
Patient: "...Either you're going insane or I am."
Doctor: "Who told you that?!?"

Hilarious!

Seriously, though, I work in medical insurance, and the billing company here either doesn't understand how HIPAA works or is lying through its teeth. If the billing company isn't willing to possibly violate HIPAA, then they're not sure that the son-in-law is the patient, which is a wonderful reason not to pay.

Rob

[lady_disdain]

If I use my spelling of "Katie" (that is, "Kaiti") I am the only person in the USA with my same first & last name. If I go with Katherine instead, I am one of 28. Cool!

OK, I'm not in the USA, I'm in the UK - but I tried this anyway. And in both my maiden name and my married name there's only me. I gave it the full name I use, Forename Maiden Name Married Name, and it had a conniption fit and fell over so I think it's fair to say there's only me in that too.

Why don't we have this in the UK? That's a cool site!

Kaiti, we must be the Specialest of Special Snowflakes!

Me too! I'm in Australia, there is "1 or fewer" people with my name in the US.

Very cool site!   I am the ONLY person with my name in the whole US. 

A little more off topic conversation.

There are 1734 people with my last name in the US and it is the 17483rd most common last name. I love how close the two numbers are.

[Elfmama]

If I use my spelling of "Katie" (that is, "Kaiti") I am the only person in the USA with my same first & last name. If I go with Katherine instead, I am one of 28. Cool!

OK, I'm not in the USA, I'm in the UK - but I tried this anyway. And in both my maiden name and my married name there's only me. I gave it the full name I use, Forename Maiden Name Married Name, and it had a conniption fit and fell over so I think it's fair to say there's only me in that too.

Why don't we have this in the UK? That's a cool site!

Kaiti, we must be the Specialest of Special Snowflakes!

Me too! I'm in Australia, there is "1 or fewer" people with my name in the US.

Very cool site!   I am the ONLY person with my name in the whole US.

As am I.  SIL is one of 30 (one of whom is his father).  And now I'm wondering if his father is the one who incurred the charges; he has stolen SIL's identity before.

[Elisabunny]

If I use my spelling of "Katie" (that is, "Kaiti") I am the only person in the USA with my same first & last name. If I go with Katherine instead, I am one of 28. Cool!

OK, I'm not in the USA, I'm in the UK - but I tried this anyway. And in both my maiden name and my married name there's only me. I gave it the full name I use, Forename Maiden Name Married Name, and it had a conniption fit and fell over so I think it's fair to say there's only me in that too.

Why don't we have this in the UK? That's a cool site!

Kaiti, we must be the Specialest of Special Snowflakes!

Me too! I'm in Australia, there is "1 or fewer" people with my name in the US.

Very cool site!   I am the ONLY person with my name in the whole US. 

A little more off topic conversation.

There are 1734 people with my last name in the US and it is the 17483rd most common last name. I love how close the two numbers are.

There are only 373 people in the USA with my last name.  And I'm fairly sure I'm related to all of them!    By marriage anyway.  If I use my spelling of my first name, I'm the only one.  Although there are two other people with the more common spelling.  (I wonder how often they update.  DH's aunt had the more common spelling, but she died last year.)

[Shoo]

If I use my spelling of "Katie" (that is, "Kaiti") I am the only person in the USA with my same first & last name. If I go with Katherine instead, I am one of 28. Cool!

OK, I'm not in the USA, I'm in the UK - but I tried this anyway. And in both my maiden name and my married name there's only me. I gave it the full name I use, Forename Maiden Name Married Name, and it had a conniption fit and fell over so I think it's fair to say there's only me in that too.

Why don't we have this in the UK? That's a cool site!

Kaiti, we must be the Specialest of Special Snowflakes!

Me too! I'm in Australia, there is "1 or fewer" people with my name in the US.

Very cool site!   I am the ONLY person with my name in the whole US. 

A little more off topic conversation.

There are 1734 people with my last name in the US and it is the 17483rd most common last name. I love how close the two numbers are.

There are only 373 people in the USA with my last name.  And I'm fairly sure I'm related to all of them!    By marriage anyway.  If I use my spelling of my first name, I'm the only one.  Although there are two other people with the more common spelling.  (I wonder how often they update.  DH's aunt had the more common spelling, but she died last year.)

The data they use for this program is so old I'd be skeptical about its accuracy.  It uses data from the 1990 census.  A lot of things can change in 22 years.

[Luci45]

Elfmama: Tell SIL#1 to go to howmanyofme.com and look up how many people share his name.  So when the billing company calls he can say "there are X number of people in the US with that name, so unless you can provide proof this debt is mine I will not be paying."

Thank you for the new timekiller!

I am fascinated with this, especially how common certain last names are! I know 2 families with 117 or fewer people in the US.

[blue2000]

There are lots of people with my first name or my last in the US, but according to this, only 26 with first AND last. Pretty cool.

[Bethczar]

There are 3 people with my first name/married name.
There is one person with my first name/maiden name (and if this info is from 1990, that would be me).
There are 232 people with my maiden name.

This probably needs its own thread.

[Luci45]

There are 3 people with my first name/married name.
There is one person with my first name/maiden name (and if this info is from 1990, that would be me).
There are 232 people with my maiden name.

This probably needs its own thread.

Yup.