Do patients have right to know if doctor or nurse is vaccinated?
Most hospitals encourage -- but do not require -- employees to be vaccinated. HOUSTON  This week, Houston Methodist suspended 178 employees for not being fully vaccinated as part of its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Even there, 285 employees have been granted religious or medical exemptions, and another 332 were granted deferrals for pregnancy and other reasons. A spokesperson for Houston Methodist says unvaccinated employees undergo regular COVID-19 testing. All employees are required to wear PPE. However, the COVID-19 vaccine is encouraged but not mandated at most other hospitals. KHOU 11 legal analyst Carmen Roe says youre free to ask your doctor or nurse if theyve received the COVID-19 vaccine, but its up to the healthcare worker if they choose to answer. Its a personal choice for everyone, and physicians are not any different. You could not go to a hospital and inquire about medical records associated with anyone who works there, because theyre private, Roe said. It is your right to pick where you receive care. A lot of people dont think of it this way, but hospitals are businesses like everyone else. If you dont feel comfortable with not getting the answer you want or youre not comfortable being at that location, you have the right to go somewhere else, and you have the right to go to a physician who wants to share that information, Roe said.