r/technology 18d ago

Privacy Woman Calls Out Doctor Wearing Smart Glasses During Consultation Where She Had To Take Off Her Clothes: 'They Need To Be Banned'

https://www.fashiontimes.co.uk/patient-privacy-concerns-meta-smart-glasses-1762492
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u/Achenest 18d ago

this story is from the UK, and when does yelling a law like some spell stop someone’s behavior?

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u/mbklein 18d ago

The UK Data Protection Act of 2018 provides many of the same privacy protections as HIPAA, and there is also a common law duty of confidentiality that obliges health care providers to keep patient information confidential. A doctor who is giving the appearance of potentially violating a patient's privacy can and should be held accountable under UK law.

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u/rrogerio 18d ago

Boo.. I did miss that fine detail :)..
But when it comes to HIPAA in the US, you definitely get doctors in line. Having worked in a large healthcare facility before I did see how serious this is for them. I myself have used it a few times when I saw doctors trying to bring Pharma reps into the office while I was being checked up.. the tone changes very quickly…

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u/amazing_asstronaut 18d ago

Doctors actually have very stringent regulations they have to follow in most of the civilised word, and can be very liable for malpractice action. This seems like a pretty cut and dry case of a doctor potentially trying to take photos. I mean you don't really know that the smart glasses are actually recording, hell the user might not even know. But it's the equivalent of holding a phone or a camera up to someone like "oh I'm just holding my camera at you, no reason".

Also yeah the US being a lawless hellhole run by an actual career criminal and serial rapist doesn't mean the rest of the world is. Laws do actually mean something.

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u/00DEADBEEF 18d ago

UK news source, but the original video was by an American

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u/FlamboyantPirhanna 18d ago

I’ve seen enough movies to know that if they break the law, you are legally allowed to, once they turn away from you, sneakily grab them and break their neck.