Therapy Dog Question......

[Kathryn Merteuil]

OMG Poms are so cute!

That said... I doubt the dog is a legit therapy dog. They sell those "therapy dog tags" on Temu in fact. We have a friend who has a chihuahua that's a therapy dog, her certification came from amazon.com.

 

[sam_gordon]

While I understand that you may want to learn about laws for therapy dogs, service dogs, etc., as the manager of a doctor’s office it seems you should be very knowledgeable about HIPPA law. Describing what goes on in an exam room when the physician is providing treatment, relaying that she reports she has/needs a therapy dog, and posting a picture of what the dog looks like on social media is a blatant violation of HIPPA - whether or not you post the patient’s name. The ethical, and legal, thing to do would be to discuss this with the physician or legal counsel, not to open your patient to judgement on a social media site.

I understand the concern, but wouldn't the patient have to prove there was even a potential loss of privacy?

Here's what we know...
Patient is a female.
Patient has a pomeranian.
Patient carries her in a dog carrier backpack.
Dog doesn't behave in the doctor's office.

Am I missing anything? We don't know what state, much less what city. We don't know what type of doctor. We don't know anything about what type of medical issues the patient is being seen for.

I understand the HIPAA (*NOT* HIPPA) concern, but it seems REALLY extreme IMO.

 

[china mom]

While I understand that you may want to learn about laws for therapy dogs, service dogs, etc., as the manager of a doctor’s office it seems you should be very knowledgeable about HIPPA law. Describing what goes on in an exam room when the physician is providing treatment, relaying that she reports she has/needs a therapy dog, and posting a picture of what the dog looks like on social media is a blatant violation of HIPPA - whether or not you post the patient’s name. The ethical, and legal, thing to do would be to discuss this with the physician or legal counsel, not to open your patient to judgement on a social media site.

*HIPAA

I used to teach new EMS providers the HIPPAA course and I do not see how the OP has violated HIPAA in her post. No identifying information was revealed and no medical information was disclosed.

 

[slo]

I understand the concern, but wouldn't the patient have to prove there was even a potential loss of privacy?

Here's what we know...
Patient is a female.
Patient has a pomeranian.
Patient carries her in a dog carrier backpack.
Dog doesn't behave in the doctor's office.

Am I missing anything? We don't know what state, much less what city. We don't know what type of doctor. We don't know anything about what type of medical issues the patient is being seen for.

I understand the HIPAA (*NOT* HIPPA) concern, but it seems REALLY extreme IMO.

*HIPAA

I used to teach new EMS providers the HIPPAA course and I do not see how the OP has violated HIPAA in her post. No identifying information was revealed and no medical information was disclosed.

Thank you and I agree with both of you - I know better than to violate HIPPA. I appreciate you both knowing I wouldn’t do that

 

[Mirabell Rose]

Thank you and I agree with both of you - I know better than to violate HIPPA. I appreciate you both knowing I wouldn’t do that

I understand the concern, but wouldn't the patient have to prove there was even a potential loss of privacy?

Here's what we know...
Patient is a female.
Patient has a pomeranian.
Patient carries her in a dog carrier backpack.
Dog doesn't behave in the doctor's office.

Am I missing anything? We don't know what state, much less what city. We don't know what type of doctor. We don't know anything about what type of medical issues the patient is being seen for.

I understand the HIPAA (*NOT* HIPPA) concern, but it seems REALLY extreme IMO.

The fact that she discusses what happened during the receipt of medical care is enough.

 

[Mirabell Rose]

Thank you and I agree with both of you - I know better than to violate HIPPA. I appreciate you both knowing I wouldn’t do

*HIPAA

I used to teach new EMS providers the HIPPAA course and I do not see how the OP has violated HIPAA in her post. No identifying information was revealed and no medical information was disclosed.

What goes on during treatment is medical information.

 

[sam_gordon]

The fact that she discusses what happened during the receipt of medical care is enough.

"What happened during treatment" = "dog misbehaved"? I'm nowhere near the medical field, but I think you're being too strict. Just my opinion of course.

 

[emisorik388]

Found this thread while scrolling older discussions about therapy vs ESA dogs. A trained therapy dog should be calm and ok with people touching it, so the barking and nipping thing doesn’t fit. I got my ESA letter through Wellness Wag a while ago and it was an actual evaluation with a licensed clinician. Even then, my dog had to already be well behaved in public.

As some know.....I manage a small doctor's office.
We have a patient that brings in her therapy dog and says that it is a "trained therapy dog". Every time she comes in, the dog barks, growls at the doctor, and today got out of it's carrier and started nipping at both of his legs. So....my question to those that know more than me.....

Is this normal?
Do trained therapy dogs behave like this? I thought trained therapy dogs were calm and people barely know it's there.

Or....

Is this not normal?

Discuss

ETA - If anyone wants a visual, this is the type of dog she has

View attachment 928069

Found this thread while scrolling older discussions about therapy vs ESA dogs. A trained therapy dog should be calm and ok with people touching it, so the barking and nipping thing doesn’t fit. I got my ESA letter through Wellness Wag a while ago and it was an actual evaluation with a licensed clinician. Even then, my dog had to already be well behaved in public.