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I would think there is a Hospital Compliance Officer you could address by name or the Admin/CEO
One of my friends was fired working at a Hospital... she was well liked and loved her job... 23 and engaged to be married.
On her break... she posted a selfie on Facebook with the caption "Me Loving my Job"
About a week later she was called in to meet the compliance officer... the officer had the Facebook Picture and in the background was a computer monitor and when enlarged you could read a patient name and doctor...
She was terminated on the spot... the Hospital said they had no choice.
No idea how it will go but saying you do not expected the employee reprimanded might be of little value.
The Hospital had to report the breach and corrective action and contact the patient involved who also declined action...
To be fair, posting PHI on the internet on a site with an unknown number of viewers is about as bad as it gets. In my office where we deal with PHI daily, cameras are not allowed to be used unless it is in the break room.
I would think there is a Hospital Compliance Officer you could address by name or the Admin/CEO
One of my friends was fired working at a Hospital... she was well liked and loved her job... 23 and engaged to be married.
On her break... she posted a selfie on Facebook with the caption "Me Loving my Job"
About a week later she was called in to meet the compliance officer... the officer had the Facebook Picture and in the background was a computer monitor and when enlarged you could read a patient name and doctor...
She was terminated on the spot... the Hospital said they had no choice.
No idea how it will go but saying you do not expected the employee reprimanded might be of little value.
The Hospital had to report the breach and corrective action and contact the patient involved who also declined action...
I just had a conversation regarding HIPPA with a group of student nurses on the elevator regarding the patients they were openly talking about in front of others...not only did they mention the unit they were on, they mentioned bed numbers, specific medical conditions and they also shared personal things that the patient and wife shared with them. That's more than enough information needed to be able to find this person if I wanted to.
Were they being malicious? No, not at all. But HIPPA doesn't work that way.
Will I report them to the compliance hotline? No, but I sure as hell will be having a chat with the unit director and their off campus teacher. HIPPA is serious business....you can lose your job and you can be fined.
If the OPs doctor's office is part of a larger health organization, she can report it to the compliance hotline, however starting with the practice's office manger is a good start. The office manager is the in charge of staff...all staff...clinical and non clinical...and is usually the one that keep tabs on education compliance.
I think it’s s fine line. She should not have said “the patient in the next room”, but she also didn’t say a name. At any rate, if it bothers you call and speak to the head of the nursing department to report or the main office management.
I had to take my husband to the emergency room because he couldn't empty his bladder. Long story short, they inserted a catheter that he needed for 24 hours until the meds kicked in.
24 hours later he had the catheter removed art the urologist office. The next day he had some concerns so it was back to the urologist office for a bladder scan.
The nurse who did the bladder scan told us that the other gentleman in the waiting room had the same problem. She said that the doctor had sent him home with another catheter and told him to come back in a week. She even told us the measurement of how much urine the other guy was retaining.
Fortunately it turned out everything was fine with my husband. However, even though this happened a couple of weeks ago, it still bugs me that this nurse talked so openly about the other guy`s medical condition. This tells me she wasn't hesitating to talk about my husbands private business with others either.
Did she violate HIPPA? If so, where would I report this? Or am I misunderstanding the whole privacy issue?
If you want her fired and ruin her life.... go ahead and report her.
I would think there is a Hospital Compliance Officer you could address by name or the Admin/CEO
One of my friends was fired working at a Hospital... she was well liked and loved her job... 23 and engaged to be married.
On her break... she posted a selfie on Facebook with the caption "Me Loving my Job"
About a week later she was called in to meet the compliance officer... the officer had the Facebook Picture and in the background was a computer monitor and when enlarged you could read a patient name and doctor...
She was terminated on the spot... the Hospital said they had no choice.
No idea how it will go but saying you do not expected the employee reprimanded might be of little value.
The Hospital had to report the breach and corrective action and contact the patient involved who also declined action...
How sad (that she got fired). I understand the violation, but I do wonder if they had "no choice" especially since the patient involved declined action. I am not an attorney however, maybe the discipline was appropriate.
I had to take my husband to the emergency room because he couldn't empty his bladder. Long story short, they inserted a catheter that he needed for 24 hours until the meds kicked in.
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The nurse who did the bladder scan told us that the other gentleman in the waiting room had the same problem.<>
Did she violate HIPPA? If so, where would I report this? Or am I misunderstanding the whole privacy issue?
It doesn't work that way. There is no Federal Bureau of ****. If you are angry enough to endanger her job, complain to the office manager.
I filed a HIPAA complaint against my old HMO because they did not send my records to my new doctor (they're supposed to send within 30 days, it had been 2 months and I'd even reminded them; I needed those records for care.)
What happened? The records got sent, though it later turned out they hadn't sent everything. HIPAA never contacted me or took any action against the HMO.
So I'm going to guess that your complaint wouldn't produce a lot of results. Tell the office manager or your doctor.
To be fair, posting PHI on the internet on a site with an unknown number of viewers is about as bad as it gets. In my office where we deal with PHI daily, cameras are not allowed to be used unless it is in the break room.
True... no matter how innocent... she worked at the front lobby reception desk... the most public place in the Hospital and had the ability to look up patient/doctors to make calls for visitors..
Only pointed it out that no matter how the aggrieved party feels it may not make a difference.
For her part... she was devastated but fully understood... their was no pleading... she asked if there was anything she could do to make up for it and was told the Hospital's hands were tied... patient name and doctor on the Facebook... end of story.
Made me glad I have never had a Facebook account or a Smartphone with Camera... for just how easy it could be to screw up...
I filed a HIPAA complaint against my old HMO because they did not send my records to my new doctor (they're supposed to send within 30 days, it had been 2 months and I'd even reminded them; I needed those records for care.)
What happened? The records got sent, though it later turned out they hadn't sent everything. HIPAA never contacted me or took any action against the HMO.
So I'm going to guess that your complaint wouldn't produce a lot of results. Tell the office manager or your doctor.
How do you think that violated HIPAA?
An HMO is an insurance plan. Why would they have all of your records anyway? You would have to get records from the physician's office, unless you are talking about Kaiser perhaps.
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