I work in a call center managing medical appointments for various private hospitals. Also, because of the receptionists inside those hospitals are really busy and often can’t answer phone calls, we have ended up becoming a backup general info line (where do I go for a blood test, are my CT results ready, does this require authorisation from my insurance). Patients are received by a bot informing them that this phone line is for managing appointments, but people just don’t listen.
Our ID policy states that we must verify the full name, birthdate, and ID of a person before giving ANY info of a patient. Valid IDs are DNI, NIE (Spanish ID cards for citizens and foreign residents, respectively), and passports. If a supervisor finds one worker breaking this policy, disciplinary action is expected to happen, and our salary might get cut, so we take this seriously.
One day, I received the following call:
Me: “Welcome to [medical group], my name is [My Name], how can I help you?”
Caller: “Hello, I was wondering if you could verify something about a patient in your hospital. You know, I’m very concerned!”
Me: “Of course, what is that you’d like to check?”
Caller: “My friend, [Foreign First Name] was transferred to your hospital from Cadiz for a CT scan this afternoon, and she said that you locked her in a room! That you stole her blanket and kept her starving without food or water. Is this true?”
That story sounded simply unbelievable. I had heard about complaints regarding medical malpractice, but what she said was simply on another level.
Me: “Wow, that sounds… unusual. Let me see if there’s something on her profile. Would you please confirm her full name, ID, and birthdate?”
Caller: “What? No, no I just need to know if all that is true. Just tell me”
Me: “I’m sorry, but due to our security policies, I can’t give you information unless you confirm that data.”
Caller: “I don’t have any of that now. You see, she flew from Morrocco a few days ago and doesn’t speak Spanish. I’m like, her only family here. She has family, and they are worried about her. She is not answering her phone, maybe she is out of battery. I could give you my DNI.”
Me: “I’m afraid I still need her data. It’s for security.”
Caller: “I don’t think you understand. I’m not asking for any ‘information’, I just need to verify if this is how you treated my friend?”
Me: “Just confirming with you if she has been today in the hospital would be a security breach. Look, if you don’t know her info, you can ask her family in order to pass ID policy. I can wait in line if you…”
Caller: “You know, you are keeping an old woman hostage, this is what you’re doing. If you don’t tell me where she is right now, I’ll call the police! Just go and check if she’s safe”
Me: “Ma’am, I can’t, I…”
Caller: “Wait, you’re not in the Hospital.”
Me: “No, I’m not.”
Caller: “Well, then put me with someone who is!”
Me: “You can call directly to the reception by pressing [number], but they won’t tell you anything unless you give them the ID info.”
Caller: “I’ll try that. If you keep the status of [Name] from me, I’ll call the police!” *Click.*
I was left dumbfounded on my desk. Since that evening was slow, I checked the name on the database out of curiosity. Only five people were registered under that name in all our company: none of them had been in that hospital that day.
Was she really just a worried friend? Maybe. Was she someone trying to locate a woman who wanted to be left alone? I don’t know, and probably never will. But had I complied, I could have lost my job and maybe I could have put a woman at risk.
