What to Know
If visiting the gynecologist for a routine exam isn’t uncomfortable enough, let’s throw a hidden camera into the mix. Well, not so hidden. A woman on TikTok posted a video showing a camera right outside of her exam room that she didn’t notice until after her appointment was over. But it gets better (or, well, worse), because she shows that the camera is positioned near a window at the top of the door to the exam room.
The woman, whose name appears to be Nicole, wrote in the caption that she hopes the camera was off. The fact that there is even a camera so close to the exam room is enough to question literally everything. And even if the camera is off, why is there a window to the exam room? There are just a lot of questions that pretty much everyone has now.
The camera was right outside of the exam room.
@mnicole855 I’m hoping the camera was off..? 😬#gyno #fyp #pov #yikes ♬ original sound – First Motors
In the video, the camera is one of those small bubble cameras you might see in a store to catch shoplifters. It doesn’t appear to be facing the exam room, and maybe it isn’t. But the fact that there is a camera there at all clearly made Nicole take a minute to wonder how the heck someone allowed it to be positioned on the ceiling right outside of the window to the exam room.
One user in the comments under the TikTok advised Nicole, “Take the video down immediately. Don’t complain to the facility at all and get a lawyer YESTERDAY.”
Another wrote, “Wow!!! Lawsuit!!! Hipaa violation.”
HIPAA refers to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. It ensures, per the National Institutes of Health, that patient information is kept confidential. Yes, that includes security camera footage of appointments.
Well, mostly. According to the security company Bay Alarm, cameras cannot be placed in changing rooms, restrooms, or exam rooms. They can, however, be situated in hallways, waiting rooms, and administrative areas.
In Nicole’s video, the camera is not inside her actual exam room. But its close proximity, and that above-door window, make this a bit of a grey area where HIPAA is concerned.
People think the woman should ask to see the footage.
Even if the camera is pointed away from the exam room, users on TikTok commented on Nicole’s video to urge her to ask for the footage. If nothing else, it might give her peace of mind. And, some believe, there’s a good chance the camera was recording and even potentially pointed at the room.
“No they f–king didn’t!” A user commented. “I would demand to speak to the manager to see the footage and if they don’t, call the police.”
“Demand to see the footage now!” Another person advised. “Before it’s possibly removed.”
An expert said the camera probably isn’t peeking into the room.
There are also mixed comments from people who have experience in this specific type of surveillance camera. One person commented to say that it cannot be electronically swiveled. They also wrote that they, as the installer, were not allowed to access recordings.
Another apparent expert wrote, “As someone who installed cameras for 20 years…I guarantee that camera can’t see into that room, much less the table. A fisheye camera could but that’s not a fisheye.”
On the other side of the spectrum, someone else commented, “We have similar looking cameras at my work and the camera can be remotely adjusted to see in any direction. Don’t let them tell you it’s not pointed into the room.”
In other words, that camera, or that very open window, has got to go.
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