NY Med is in hot water, The hospital featured on the ABC series is being forced to pay $2.2 million dollars for the filming of patients without their permission. The New York Times reported that the filming of the patients continued even after a medical professional at the location asked for the filming to stop. The incident happened in 2011, and the family of one of the patients filed their suit in 2013.
This court decision could have an impact on the future of reality television series, especially those that are filmed live on a location like NY Med. Dr. Joel Geiderman, from Cedar-Sinai in Los Angeles, spoke about the decision. He said:
“I think this will have a chilling effect on hospitals going forward. Any hospital legal counsel worth his salt or any P.R. director would be committing malpractice in order to allow it to occur. It’s now embodied in a federal directive.”
Jocelyn Samuels, from the Office of Civil Rights, also spoke about the lawsuit and fine:
“This case sends an important message that O.C.R. will not permit covered entities to compromise their patients’ privacy by allowing news or television crews to film the patients without their authorization.”
Do you watch NY Med? How do you feel about the practice of filming patients? Is the fine fair? Tell us what you think.
This is very surprising to me, in that the same type of show has been filmed in other countries, all the while with permission from patients and families.
This is more an issue of bad procedure on the film company’s part than anything the hospital did.
Having worked in hospitals, I am shocked that the hospital attorney was not there making sure EVERY second of filming was consented to with appropriately signed consent forms to protect hospital from HIPAA compliance lawsuits.
Consent forms are the first thing you see in a hospital or doctor’s office, for any and every procedure. If a person came in compromised how could they give consent? If it was filmed then they sought consent that is JUST WRONG.
Not surprised. When I watched every episode, I wondered whether they had valid authorizations from every patient, many of whom appeared too incapacitated to give informed legal consent. Now we know why the series disappeared into the sunset so quietly.