OP,

Her boss is an ass. Stating the obvious, I know. How can he expect her to force someone to respond?


As for research data, that's not what's happening here, if it were, the boss would explain it and OP's friend could tell patients. Nice try.

Folks with private insurance would NOT tolerate questions about race around medical appointments. (I'm a PP who's repeating herself.)

Anonymous wrote:OP here - MY fault, I should have had my friend read the post before I put it on. According to her, her real problem is that her boss said she cannot put refused to respond when asking race and whether someone is hispanic or not (those are the 2 questions she is uncomfortable with). So if a patient refuses to answer, she has to either get them to give an answer or worry about being in trouble for not complying with what he wants. Don't know if that changes how people feel.

Simple. Make shit up!!!

No seriously. That is a whole different can of beans. What does he expect her to do? If they don't want to say, they don't want to say!

OP here - MY fault, I should have had my friend read the post before I put it on. According to her, her real problem is that her boss said she cannot put refused to respond when asking race and whether someone is hispanic or not (those are the 2 questions she is uncomfortable with). So if a patient refuses to answer, she has to either get them to give an answer or worry about being in trouble for not complying with what he wants. Don't know if that changes how people feel.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh, yes. All she has to say if someone questions her is "Medicare policies require we ask for this information, I'm sorry."

This ...AND you can object from telling me over the phone and or filling it out on the form. We are not permitted to deny you service based on your refusal.
Though this my impede the medicare claim.

One more reason for doctors to not take medicare.

All of you people jumping on OP are nuts - it's clearly illegal.

Along those lines, my employer requires me to wear pants in the office. (I know, right? Totally nuts.) They make me uncomfortable - I much prefer biker shorts. Is it legal for him to make me uncomfortable?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:P.S. I'd be taken aback if my doctor's office asked this of me. How can any of us assume a Medicare patient would not?

Why? Your race is about as personal as your eye color. Anyone can see it as soon as they look at you and it's neither good or bad. Just is.

U really cannot be that ignorant that you think u know someone's race just by looking at them...
U can guess...but you don't know for sure...
How people identify and their racial background is very personal....not necessarily something u can assume by someone's skin color or hair texture.
Some questions are tricky...that's why u put that information on forms...
Don't ask my race or my sexual history on the phone -- bad practice.
I would find another doctor if this was asked of me.

1) Perhaps some spelling lessons would be in order.
2) I completely disagree that race is something personal. It's about as personal as your shoe size.
3) Your race and your sexual history are like apples and tornado. They are so different that i don't even know how you managed to lump them together in your head. No, no one should be asking you about your sexual history over the phone. that IS personal. Your race is in plain view for everyone to see and there is nothing personal about it.

bullshit- signed black mommie to a blue eyed straight blond haired cherub

Uhm, which part???

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:P.S. I'd be taken aback if my doctor's office asked this of me. How can any of us assume a Medicare patient would not?

Why? Your race is about as personal as your eye color. Anyone can see it as soon as they look at you and it's neither good or bad. Just is.

U really cannot be that ignorant that you think u know someone's race just by looking at them...
U can guess...but you don't know for sure...
How people identify and their racial background is very personal....not necessarily something u can assume by someone's skin color or hair texture.
Some questions are tricky...that's why u put that information on forms...
Don't ask my race or my sexual history on the phone -- bad practice.
I would find another doctor if this was asked of me.

1) Perhaps some spelling lessons would be in order.
2) I completely disagree that race is something personal. It's about as personal as your shoe size.
3) Your race and your sexual history are like apples and tornado. They are so different that i don't even know how you managed to lump them together in your head. No, no one should be asking you about your sexual history over the phone. that IS personal. Your race is in plain view for everyone to see and there is nothing personal about it.

bullshit- signed black mommie to a blue eyed straight blond haired cherub

Anonymous wrote:Uh, yes. All she has to say if someone questions her is "Medicare policies require we ask for this information, I'm sorry."

This ...AND you can object from telling me over the phone and or filling it out on the form. We are not permitted to deny you service based on your refusal.
Though this my impede the medicare claim.

As someone who works in research, I can see why the organization that she works for would want the data about the race/ethnicity of who calls and makes an appointment, which is a different data set from who comes in and goes to an appointment. By tracking this data, the doctor (or a government agency or a university research team) who is looking at how the new medicaid system is working can tell things like what groups are more and less likely to go to an appointment after making one. There may be groups with lower than average rates of actually showing up and that would be helpful in designing outreach programs.

Maybe explain to your friend that data is a useful thing and it can be used to help make programs better and this will help her to see the important role she is playing in the process of gathering such data.

Anonymous wrote:There are many instances in which asking race is illegal or can be used in ways which are illegal.
While this is not the case, it lends itself to more sensitivity and should not be information that is gathered over the phone.
Let them fill out the forms in the office or online.
The fact that the dr. is insistent on doing this over the phone makes him/her suspect.

But see, whether it's a good idea or not is irrelevant. Or whether we'd be uncomfortable as patients. And it doesn't matter one iota what the employee's opinion on the przctice of askign over the phone is. All that matters is that her boss has given her the instruction to ask and she has failed to carry out this task. She now stands to be written up for not asking. She needs to use one of the scripts the PPs has suggested and ask the question. This is not a hill worth dying on.

There are many instances in which asking race is illegal or can be used in ways which are illegal.
While this is not the case, it lends itself to more sensitivity and should not be information that is gathered over the phone.
Let them fill out the forms in the office or online.
The fact that the dr. is insistent on doing this over the phone makes him/her suspect.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:P.S. I'd be taken aback if my doctor's office asked this of me. How can any of us assume a Medicare patient would not?

Why? Your race is about as personal as your eye color. Anyone can see it as soon as they look at you and it's neither good or bad. Just is.

U really cannot be that ignorant that you think u know someone's race just by looking at them...
U can guess...but you don't know for sure...
How people identify and their racial background is very personal....not necessarily something u can assume by someone's skin color or hair texture.
Some questions are tricky...that's why u put that information on forms...
Don't ask my race or my sexual history on the phone -- bad practice.
I would find another doctor if this was asked of me.

1) Perhaps some spelling lessons would be in order.
2) I completely disagree that race is something personal. It's about as personal as your shoe size.
3) Your race and your sexual history are like apples and tornado. They are so different that i don't even know how you managed to lump them together in your head. No, no one should be asking you about your sexual history over the phone. that IS personal. Your race is in plain view for everyone to see and there is nothing personal about it.

You cannot assume to know a person's race simpy by looking at them.
What ignorance

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:P.S. I'd be taken aback if my doctor's office asked this of me. How can any of us assume a Medicare patient would not?

Why? Your race is about as personal as your eye color. Anyone can see it as soon as they look at you and it's neither good or bad. Just is.

NP here. What is this, 1950? You can't always tell someone's race by looking at them. Mybrother looks white but he's black. And so many people are of mixed races these days.

"My brother looks white but he's black."

Cool name for a rock band! 8)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:P.S. I'd be taken aback if my doctor's office asked this of me. How can any of us assume a Medicare patient would not?

Why? Your race is about as personal as your eye color. Anyone can see it as soon as they look at you and it's neither good or bad. Just is.

U really cannot be that ignorant that you think u know someone's race just by looking at them...
U can guess...but you don't know for sure...
How people identify and their racial background is very personal....not necessarily something u can assume by someone's skin color or hair texture.
Some questions are tricky...that's why u put that information on forms...
Don't ask my race or my sexual history on the phone -- bad practice.
I would find another doctor if this was asked of me.

1) Perhaps some spelling lessons would be in order.
2) I completely disagree that race is something personal. It's about as personal as your shoe size.
3) Your race and your sexual history are like apples and tornado. They are so different that i don't even know how you managed to lump them together in your head. No, no one should be asking you about your sexual history over the phone. that IS personal. Your race is in plain view for everyone to see and there is nothing personal about it.

I think your friend is uncomfortable asking because she knows her boss will treat patients differently based on race. It could be arriving late to appointments with race A or making race B wait to be seen even when the boss is available to see the patient. Possibly not taking a patient at all based on race.