I work at a medical school. “Intern” doesn’t have to be exclusive to medical disciplines of course. And some people might use the word loosely. But our first year residents - who are MD’s - are interns. They have typically gone through 4 years of med school where they also trained in note taking on EMR’s. (electronic medical records).
Likely after leaving the exam room the precepting doc (the more experienced one!) went back and reviewed - with the intern - the EMR notes.
The OP said…the person taking the notes was not a medical school grad, and was actually on a gap year. So…this might have been a hired scribe (you know…jobs are now all internships), or not. But definitely not a first year resident.
@lookingforward, I agree that we don’t know what this guy’s training was. He is either a paid employee of the doctor or hospital and therefore likely a valid part of the care team, or he was merely shadowing the doc and utilizing the hospital computer system inappropriately. We don’t have the information to make the determination one way or the other. What we do know is that he might well be an intern in the sense of that word in the business world, but by his own admission, he is not an intern in the standard context of a medical setting.
If the OP is bothered by not knowing the answers here, she should talk to the doctor about it.
I put my money on medical scribe.
Scribes are paid about $15/hour and typically do the job during a gap year when they are applying to medical school. As an employee, the scribe is HIPAA-trained. The MD and office staff are not going to let a random person into your EMR. The problem is the MD’s use of the word “intern.” That was disingenuous because in a medical setting it is reasonable to assume that an intern is a licensed MD/DO who is PGY-1.
Nrds, just asking: isn’t it possible he’s been through HIPAA training but is shadowing? Especially if doing this in a hospital setting, where it’s on record there.
“The doctor is required to introduce you to each patient and explain that you are a premedical student, so expect to talk to patients. Some people may be uncomfortable having you in the room during an examination or the entire appointment, so you may be asked to step out. Other patients may ask you questions about yourself, school or your plans to become a doctor. In either case, it’s important that you keep all patient information private. You may be required to sign a HIPAA compliance document stating that you will not disclose any patient information or details that could lead to patient identification.”
https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/shadowing-doctor/
I’m not trying to extend any argument. To me, the main thing is how it was left unclear.
Licensed? As a PGY1? I don’t think they take their exams until later in their residency.
Even volunteers in a hospital setting have to complete HIPAA training. Definitely any staff and/or shadowing candidates.
In the medical practice where I worked the docs would introduce someone who was shadowing and ask the patient’s permission to have that person sit in on the visit.
@lookingforward, yes, it certainly is possible. But if he were actually employed by the hospital or medical practice, I think the OP could have more confidence that he did receive the training.
If this person has a job…which he calls an internship like lots of other people…then he would be an intern. I do agree that in a medical setting, this is confusing and probably shouldn’t have been used.
The OP spouse, if concerned, can call the practice and ask if this person was an employee. My guess is…yes.
When I go to the eye doctor, there is always a scribe, and the doc dictates his exam results which the scribe enters. It never dawned on me to inquire about the scribes credentials.
I have definitely seen kids shadowing a doctor with no HIPAA training. Usually it’s the child of a friend or other employee. “Timmy is going to observe the surgery today.” Patient says it’s okay, and on they go. Maybe they sign a waiver to not disclose any info., but HIPAA training? No. And I imagine this happens fairly regularly-with no malice intended. Susie is thinking of going into medicine, so next door neighbor surgeon agrees to let her watch a surgery (with patient permission).
However, if this young man is working with the doctor on an ongoing basis, we can guess that he probably got the training. But we don’t know this for sure.
Does the OP even care if he got the training? She seems to have gotten uncomfortable with the young man being “knee deep in her husband’s medical business” after finding out he is not a doctor or even a medical student. Would her discomfort be eased if she were to find out he is an employee of the doctor or hospital doing scribe work and is documented to have received HIPAA training? I don’t know, but I think she would feel better about the whole thing if she were to get clarification from this doctor.
Coming back to this for a minute. You have all given me so much to think about, as usual! I have called over to the dr. office and am waiting for a call back; I will keep you posted.
One more thing I forgot to mention in my original post, he was wearing a white ‘doctor coat’. I think it is easy to see why I might feel a bit duped?
The scribes at my eye doc office wear white jackets also.
@thumper1 It is my understanding, and I may be wrong, that white jackets are typically worn by med. students, white coats (full length) are typically reserved for those with medical degrees i.e. doctors. In my case, the doctor was not wearing any medical garb.
eta - I just spoke to somebody in the office and the intern is an intern, not a scribe, not a med student, ‘just and intern’ whatever that means. I am going to let it go, but in future I will be more mindful of who is in the room.
Just saying: I have never had a scribe in my exam room. I have had the high school kid present during a gyn appt. (She was intro’d as headed off for college in the fall and thinking of med school.)
As I’m involved with med students, I do wonder about any connection they may draw, if I do see the in a doc office or hospital. But it’s not something I worry about. I’m far more reserved about my details on CC.
My relative was a medical transcriber during a gap year between having received her medical degree and applying to med schools. She does this remotely and I’m unsure what training she had specific to this job. She’s volunteered in medical settings and also done medical research so I believe she’s had hipaa training at one or more of these venues.
I have been fairly cavalier about who can be present and learn when I’m in a medical setting (I’m often at teaching hospitals). I have no regrets but feel full disclosure to patients about persons present is important so patients can make fully informed choices and not be unhappy by getting ambiguous or misleading information.
I wish, for the sake of this thread, that you wouldn’t let it go, @momo2x2018. What the heck does “just an intern” mean? What is “just an intern” doing in an exam room, and why, if “just an intern” is not a part of the care team, was permission not sought for “just an intern”'s presence? I’d be madder about being brushed off with this non-explanation than I was with the young man’s presence in the first place. It’s disrespectful.
Smart people in this thread have spent three days and fifty messages trying to figure out what “intern” means in this context. And we couldn’t. That slimy disingenuous office employee has a lot of nerve trying to pretend that “just an intern” means something to the general public.
OK @“Cardinal Fang” Now you’ve got me going…! I’ll call again, and if I am not satisfied with the explanation of what ‘just an intern’ means and does, I’ll document an objection. initially, I was caught off guard because he was wearing a white coat, ‘intern’ in a medical setting, means at least some degree of medical training or knowledge and, to be perfectly honest (sorry, those of you who object to that term :-=), I don’t really like to idea of a layperson having the ability to access my family’s medical records without our consent. It’s a given a dr., and probably his medical staff, has that privilege, but not ‘just an intern’.
That’s a myth. Just about anyone can wear a white coat in a medical setting these days, including people who work at a hospital or medical practice but have zero medical training–like social workers or discharge planners.
https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2016/05/the-white-coat-doesnt-mean-much-anymore.html
There’s an old joke from “Scrubs” (TV show) that said the only person who DOESN’T wear a white coat is the janitor.
And the length of the coat is dependent on the personal preference of the wearer and/or cultural practice of the healthcare setting.
D1 is a physician who works solely in hospitals; she never wears a white coat at work, much less a long white coat. (Those things are often germ-laden and filthy. Those white coats don’t get washed nearly as often as patients hope they do, esp by busy med students and residents.) And yes, she has been mistaken for the janitor 
but that’s mostly because she’s female, not because she’s not wearing a white coat.