Random musings...

Let me get some legal stuff out of the way before you read further.

Under Michigan law, it is not a violation of the Michigan eavesdropping statutes, MCL 750.539, et seq, for a participant in a conversation to secretly record that conversation without the consent of the other participants. Sullivan v Gray, 117 Mich App 476; 324 NW2d 58 (1982). The Federal Wiretapping Act specifically excludes from the conduct prohibited by the Act the interception of communications by a person who is part of the communication. 18 USC 2511(2)(d).

In posting the above conversation/sound clip, I have violated no state or Federal laws, nor have I violated the TOS (terms of service) of the company who's services I used to upload this audio clip to my blog. Further, the person who made the statements about herpes and HIPAA is not identified, and this person's voice has been distorted to further obsecure their identity. I am posting this audio blog for the sole reason of educating the public; that some people who work in health services/provider positions are misinformed and need to be further educated about herpes to help eliminate the stigma/fear that surround what herpes is perceived to be.

What you will listen is not the full conversation, rather, it is two separate sound bites from two separate conversations (both lasting about ten minutes each) regarding herpes transmission and HIPAA guidelines. I do have both conversations in their entirety should they need to be referenced in the future for assurity that I used the above sound clips in the correct context.

In writing the above, I affirm that I have not edited the sound clips in a slanted manner or to fit an agenda. Again, this has been posted as an example of just how desperately we need to educate the general public about what herpes is and is not.

Okay, now that I have all that out of the way, hello. Nice to see that you've come back for another read of my blog.

Why did I go back to the office and tape the conversation? I wanted proof. I did not want this to evolve into a "Michelle said..." "Dr.'s office said" sort of situation. Reality check...whom would someone be more likely to believe...the patient making the complaint, or...from the Doctor's perspective, a patient whom the doctor running the practice characterizes as someone who is, and I quote directly from the Doctor's e-mail, "unable to reconcile your anger over the denial of whirlpool treatment with your treating therapist, as she made several attempts to explain the situation."

All I asked for was acknowlegement and an apology. The Doctor glossed over the issues I wrote about, and then said said something that was completely untrue. I've discussed this with quite a few people in the herpes community. Each and every one of them would be offended if a bright orange "BIOHAZARD" sign were placed in an area where they were being treated. This doctor insulted my intelligence by saying that this was allowable by OSHA standards, that this fell under protection from 'blood borne diseases. Any doctor worth his salt would have learned in medical school that herpes is not a blood borne disease. Further, the Michigan OSHA regulations he is referring to are specific to Hepatitis and A.I.D.S.

I am not a "BIOHAZARD". You don't need to cordon off a room to decontaminate/disinfect it simply because I was in there. For heaven's sake...I am completely clothed. They hike my shirt up and my shorts down a bit to do the massage. I'm not spewing contaminates all over the place. All that has to be done, which is what I requested in the first place, is that the person wear gloves when massaging that area...and that the gloves be thrown away afterwards.

I did alter the voice of the person with whom I spoke. While it is legal for me to record my personal, in-person conversation in Michigan, it is not my intention to humiliate the person in this recording. I simply wanted to have proof that what I said happened really did happen...

Michelle

It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.
~ William G. McAdoo