Well, here's a weird story

[struggle4progress]

Twenty-five years ago, I stayed with some relatives briefly before taking a job 1500 miles away. I met a number other people there back then, though all of my close friends have since moved away; my relatives are the only folk in town I stay in touch with; and frankly I've pretty much forgotten the names of almost everybody I wasn't close to. The relatives still live in the same place, and a couple of times a year, they'll get junk mail addressed to me or a sales phone call -- which tells you how long-lived some of the marketing lists are. The relatives open the mail and trash it unless they think I might be interested (which is hardly ever); they've never had a phone call they thought I might want to know about, though when we talk I learn they still get such calls now and again

Today they called to say they'd gotten what they originally thought was yet another sales call for me, and (as usual) asked the caller to remove my name from the call list -- at which point the caller said, "What list are you talking about? His blood test came back positive!" The caller wouldn't provide any further information

Well, I haven't actually had any blood work done in several years -- and if I had, I certainly wouldn't be giving their phone as the contact, so I'm casually trying to figure out what's going on here. I only see several possibilities:

(1) It's pure coincidence: the caller only asked for me by FIRST name, so although it's unlikely it's not astronomically impossible that a completely random fake name and a completely random fake phone number, given at a clinic, produced the seeming match
(1) Some malcontent, ruminating about some imagined slight a quarter of a century ago, decided to try to stir up some trouble: I think this is possible but about as likely as the pure coincidence hypothesis
(2) Somebody, who I met long ago, decided he better get some blood test, but really really wanted to be anonymous, so gave my name and old contact number in the hope of being untraceable: I expect this is the most likely hypothesis, and I expect in this case the patient will call back at the clinic in person to get the test results

[distantearlywarning]

1. Any medical personnel wouldn't reveal any test results to your relatives

In fact, they wouldn't even be allowed to say that the call was about test results. They would just tell them to call Doctor So-and-So as soon as possible.

I say it's a troublemaker.

[struggle4progress]

3. That's a really good point: I hadn't thought about the legal issues

[nolabear]

4. +1. You could get your ass sued off for something like that.

And it's a standard in prank calls, btw. As to how they got your name, anybody's guess.

[alphafemale]

6. Agree with this. A medical professional could get sued big time for revealing medical info. nt

[frogmarch]

2. think if the caller

had been an employee of a clinic, s/he wouldn't have said, "His blood test came back positive!" to your relative who answered the phone. It's also fishy that although the caller didn't hesitate to reveal that info, s/he didn't give the name of the clinic or leave a call-back number.

I think the caller may have been a telemarketer who was angry over being exposed for what s/he was. Yesterday I rec'd a telemarketing call. I said, "Sorry, not interested," and hung up. A few minutes later the guy called back and said angrily, "Why did you hang upon me?" I hung up again. That's why I think it's possible the call for you may have been a telemarketer who got po'd when your relative asked that your name be removed from the calling list and decided to lash out by saying that.

[MiddleFingerMom]

5. I agree that a medical professional would NOT have told someone else about YOUR results...

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...nor (probably) even the fact that you had had tests done.
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I went with coincidence (coupled with troublemaker) from experience. I went in
to see my doctor on a follow-up to some heart issues and the nurse came to the
door and said my first name. I went in... and on the way back to the room, she
asked me how that erectile dysfunction problem was coming along.
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Eventually, I thought of "Oh, I hardly notice it ALL the time now" -- but, at
the time, I just said, "Huh, WUT?!?!?".
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We went back to the waiting room and she took back the correct patient.
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That office COULD have been in some serious civil trouble if I had been
his co-worker or something and spread the "news".
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[denbot]

7. It was a sales person who wanted the last word.

He got shutdown and retaliated by lashing out. Don't give it another thought.