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Smashville
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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I wouldn't trust Geek Squad near all that HIPAA.


Stealing porn is one thing...stealing health records...there's jail time involved there.

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Shadowfire
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@Smashville_Flippin the Bird Before Bud Adams: You realize HIPAA is involved in the company's own HR policies, right? And in general Best Buy is pretty good about following it? Right?

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Smashville
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@Shadowfire: You understand the difference between hospital computers and Best Buy computers, no?

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katstermonster
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@Smashville_Flippin the Bird Before Bud Adams: And hours of boooooring training. The IT department at my school is on the same domain as Student Health Services, and although we have basically zero way to realistically access the health records, we have to go a looooong boring training session every year for HIPAA certification.

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Smashville
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@katstermonster: We used to just have a quiz at my old job.


There was a question somewhat like this:


\"A newspaper offers you $10,000 to pull up the health records of a well-known patient. Do you do it?\"

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Smashville
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@secret_curse: Nah...it's not enough to finance my future living on the lam.

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hunter3742
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@Smashville_Flippin the Bird Before Bud Adams: Certainly agreed, but they're mainly there to help family members and such once everything's up and running.

Confidential information is handled by the hospital's EMR system, which, as a rule, is set up and maintained as a turnkey solution by the vendor. It's pretty certain the Geek Squad won't get within ten feet of that system.

Now, the need to train the GS guys on general HIPAA regulations is something else entirely. Would the be considered hospital employees and therefor required to maintain the same level of confidentiality if they somehow manage to come into contact with sensitive information, and if not, how exactly would that be handled?

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JPropaganda
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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\"Uncharged cell phones\"? What about all the no cell phone policies that hospitals usually have?

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baristabrawl
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@JPropaganda: See and I thought this had to do with the analog signals. But I was later told that it's because batteries have a magnetic field that interrupts EKG's and tracer leads.


The world may never know.

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HogwartsAlum
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@JPropaganda: I'm addicted to my electronics and fast becoming dependent on the cell, dammit. I'd be on my computer in the operating room if I could get away with it.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@HogwartsAlum: The hospital I gave birth at had free wifi. I was e-mailing on my husband's laptop hours after getting cut in half. :)

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@JPropaganda: A lot of those policies are fading, and often in patient rooms you can use your cell ... just not in the procedure rooms with the fancy equipment.

I was texting my family from the labor room before I had my C-section, and texting again in recovery. :) Well, I think my husband texted everyone when I was in recovery. I was extremely stoned. We started calling people on the cells after I was put on the maternity ward in my real room.

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secret_curse
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@JPropaganda: Those are usually just in the ER or ICU areas where your cell phone might interfere with the equipment. The patient rooms I've been to have all allowed cell phones.

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AustinTXProgrammer
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@JPropaganda: The hospitals around here only restrict it in the ICU. You can even use your cell phone in the ER! In the ICU they would like you to approach the nurses station so you aren't right next to the patient equipment.

I tend to obey rules in a hospital, but I have seen one family yell at another about using the cell phone, and have always been quick to point out that recent studies have shown they aren't a concern.

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Lez Lemon
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@JPropaganda: I was just in the hospital for a few days, there was nothing about cell phones where I was (emerg, surgical ward, maternity)

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mike1731
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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This is actually a pretty nice idea. A coworker of mine was recently stuck for three months at a children's hospital when their newborn was discovered to have a nasty heart defect. Having tech support around would have been really nice for them, as both parents were there away from work and family, and really struggled in the beginning to stay connected for things that they needed / wanted to deal with.

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temporaryerror
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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A former employer of mine was in the hospital for a while after being diagnosed with cancer and had a very difficult time connecting to the hospital's wifi. It would have been great for him if this kind of thing was available. As far as cell phones go, do they still have the no phone policy? It's been a while since I've been in a hospital.
It used to be that the analog phones had the potential to screw with hospital equipment. I don't know that the lower power digital handsets present the same problem.

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diasdiem
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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I went in for a scratchy throat, and they ended up taking out my kidneys because they said they were bad. Turns out the problem was just a cold, but they threw my old kidneys away and won't give me replacements unless I pay for them!

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subtlefrog
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@diasdiem: That's what you get for going there. I have no sympathy. Even if that's where your warranty is for.

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diasdiem
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@subtlefrog: I've heard they're planning on opening installations at maternity wards, selling \"optimization\" services for newborns. Pretty much just giving them inoculations, since if there's one thing Geek Squad knows about, it's charging outrageous amounts of money for installing Antivirus.

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subtlefrog
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@diasdiem: I assume they will play Baby Einstein to them, too, to increase hard drive capacity.

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diasdiem
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@subtlefrog: Nope, turns out it doesn't actually work. In fact, it slows down program development. Pretty much useless bloatware.

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Coralvillain
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@diasdiem: I just checked their website and your kidneys are now listed as an Xbox360.

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Bhockzer
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@diasdiem: You should have backed up your kidneys.

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diasdiem
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@Bhockzer: Last time I tried that I got stones.

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Loias calls you out if you can't RTFA
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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They're providing free tech support?


All I can say is: You get what you pay for on that one...

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dadelus
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@Loias: I'm sorry to say this, but you're wrong. When you PAY for GS service you get the level of service you would expect for free. When you get Free GS service the most likely outcome is that it will suck so bad it's likely to collapse on itself and generate a black hole.

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rpm773
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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I guess there's nothing wrong with it, but I wasn't aware tech support for parents of children with long-term hospital stays in was that big of a need. The cynical side of me thinks the good PR Geek Squad receives from doing this will far outweigh the benefits to the parents.

Plus, I'd think having some short-sleeved clip-on tied nerd offering \"to help\" me every 10 minutes would be pretty annoying after...say...20 minutes.

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katstermonster
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@rpm773: A lot of parents who are in a hospital for a long-term stay are far away from their families, friends, and jobs. It's a huge need. I know a family that had to go to the Ronald McDonald House in (I think) Missouri. Having internet access, etc., is vital to staying in touch and not going insane.

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admiral_stabbin
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@rpm773: Remember that we're the elite folks who not only know how to post a comment on a web site, but have been approved (by proxy, in my case) to do so.

I think it's a noble effort (even if the motivation is obvious), and I wish them the best. I just hope they don't end up doing more harm than good (a doctors second worst nightmare..after a malpractice suit).

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suburbancowboy
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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Why did I find a brick in my IV bag?

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hunter3742
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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As a techie in a medium-sized hospital, I have to say this is a great idea.

Most patients and family members these days have laptops, phones, etc. and need help with them regularly. Our IS department has it's hands (very) full with keeping the hospital's technology running, and can't usually help. I occasionally get called (I'm the resident computer guy in the Education department, and help out with tech support on a regular basis around the hospital), but I'm not available for that kind of support most of the time either. I'd imagine the need in a larger hospital would be much higher, and take a lot of time.

I despise BB and the Geek Squad with a passion, but in this case, kudos to you guys. Great idea, great call.

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That's Consumer007 to you
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@hunter3742: Yeah except when they lose or mess up the cancer patient's / family's laptop and steal the photos too.

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Kuchen
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@hunter3742: I think it's great, too. I worked in a children's hospital that computers at each bed for the patients and families to use, but we had basically no tech support for them. When there were problems with the computers or the network, patients (and parents) would expect the nurses to try to fix it. Not so good. Not only do I not know how to fix that much stuff, I have other patients to take care of and can't really spend my time on your computer problem. Would you want me ignoring YOUR sick child because I'm futzing around on with someone else's computer? Probably not.

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goodpete
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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Great... Now they can steal your porn ([consumerist.com]), lose your hard drive ([consumerist.com]), and secretly videotape you ([consumerist.com]) for no charge!

Plus, we all know that when you have a sick child, you leave all the research to the doctors and use your cellphone to keep the family updated. So you certainly wouldn't have a problem with losing your computer for a month ([consumerist.com]). Especially when it's free.

Frankly, I wouldn't send someone to Geek Squad even if it were free.

I just hope they don't block any ambulances with their stupid-looking nerd-mobiles... [consumerist.com]

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CompyPaq
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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Kudos to Best Buy for helping out people in need.

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rickhamilton620
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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@CompyPaq: Indeed, this seems like a win-win for everyone involved.

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TCama
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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I'm trying to find something bad about this, so bear with me here.

Oh, here we go. Best Buy is doing this to expand the exposure of their brand, not just to the children and their families, but for general PR purposes.

Okay, it's true, but it's a stretch, because there's little doubt that they're losing money on this.

Also, don't they get tax deductions for this?

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That's Consumer007 to you
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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I think it would be interesting to see them in Jails, too, they can teach all the criminals hacking skills, stealing identities, etc.

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That's Consumer007 to you
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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As another thought, McDonald's started Ron McDon house, maybe that should be the BB approach here instead. The Geek Squad Charity Shack, and there can be huge coin collectors at every cashier station. Credit swipes can automatically donate to it too. I can only imagine the \"feel good\" photo ops - sick cancer kids getting a ride in the Geek Squad vw beetles, etc. A great PR job for someone out there...

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Hakib
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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We did this at my university for all students. (Embry Riddle Aeronautical University)

Most of us were more qualified than BB Geek Squad, and our jobs ran the gamut from ensuring bandwidth for gaming connections to replacing the monitor on a 5 year old Dell laptop. All for free. Those students that got serious use out of us loved us to death, while the casual geeks pretended we didn't know what we were doing...until they applied for a job and failed the entry test. (Seriously, you should know how to reset a BIOS chip)

That being said, now with a career in aerospace engineering, my tech support job was the best job I ever had. Lots of interaction with people, critical problem solving, and great co-workers. I wish I could do that job forever, unfortunately the profit-driven motives of Geek Squad and other places just ruin the experience.

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H3ion
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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This is almost like letting the Three Stooges provide free tech support for the Large Hadron Collider. Yeah, it's free but sometimes you get just what you pay for.

Next will be a Geek Squad kiosk in every Starbucks.

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Scooter
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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You can't spell \"publicity stunt\" without \"butt c*nts\".

I'm sure that has some relevance.

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Bob Lu
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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Geek Squad \"outlet\"?

They offer slightly used, refurbished, or open box Geek Squad there?

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YOXIM
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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\"Best Buy is donating Geek Squad\". It's so bad, not even Best Buy wants it any more.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
November 18, 2009 4:53 PM
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As much as I don't like Geek Squad (What Consumerist doesn't?) I really like this idea.


I was in a Children's hospital a lot as a Child and the hospital I was in had a McDonnalds. As an adult I think that is pretty stupid, because of health reasons and all of that. But as a kid I loved having it there, because that little piece of \"normal\" (Especially with something tangible, like food) was really great every once in a while. And it tasted better than the hospital food too.


Kids, and people in general, these days rely on technology for their normal, whether that is a good thing or not. And if their computer won't connect to the wifi or their cellphone dies their piece of normal is gone. If a Geek Squader can help bring that back, and for free, I think it's great.

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