[MikeyBSN]

I was just wondering if you think it's appropriate to call a unit/hospital where you sent a pt from the ED to see how they are doing. Does anyone here do this?

[bethin]

I would think it would be a HIPPA violation. The pt is no longer under your care so you don't have a right to that info.

[allantiques4me]

That sounds very kind.But Im not sure about the HIPPa thing either.

[TazziRN]

I think this is a grey area. We are a rural facility so we transfer out to tertiary facilities a lot. It is part of our protocol to do a follow-up by phone the next day to see if the diagnosis is the same and how the pt is doing. We brought up the HIPAA concern about this, and we were told by our bosses and risk management that this is part of continuing care. I'm not sure how, but that's what we were told. Most nurses we talk to at the receiving facility are willing to talk to us without going into detail. The nurse doing the followup has the chart in front of her; if I ask specific questions like "Did the pt have surgery" or "How did he respond to the angiogram?" the questions are almost always answered. Sometimes the receiving nurse is not comfortable saying anything other than "Pt is stable/not stable" and that's what we chart in the followup.

[stillpressingon]

HIPPA violation

[morte]

Hipaa

[Shamira Aizza]

Originally Posted by MikeyBSN

I was just wondering if you think it's appropriate to call a unit/hospital where you sent a pt from the ED to see how they are doing. Does anyone here do this?

NOT at HIPAA violation.

Reason it's not a HIPAA violation is because you were involved in patient care.

The whole purpose of HIPAA is in fact to streamline the transfer of information between sending and receiving facilities and all involved providers, and HIPAA specifically recognizes the importance of Continuous Quality Improvement.

It's not unreasonable if the receiving facility chooses not to give you an update, but it's fairly irresponsible to refuse simply for fear of violating HIPAA, because patient care is a process, and Quality Improvement should be "Continuous," meaning that the entire process should be reviewed by conscientious providers for purposes of Quality Improvement.

Two of my previous employers had a specific program in place, reviewed and approved by legal, where they provided automatic feedback to all referring hospitals. Automatic, no request for info required, approved and legal by HIPAA.

Of course you are in violation of HIPAA if you share this info improperly with someone who wasn't involved in the care of that patient.

[SharonH, RN]

Originally Posted by Shamira Aizza

NOT at HIPAA violation.

Reason it's not a HIPAA violation is because you were involved in patient care.

The whole purpose of HIPAA is in fact to streamline the transfer of information between sending and receiving facilities and all involved providers, and HIPAA specifically recognizes the importance of Continuous Quality Improvement.

It's not unreasonable if the receiving facility chooses not to give you an update, but it's fairly irresponsible to refuse simply for fear of violating HIPAA, because patient care is a process, and Quality Improvement should be "Continuous," meaning that the entire process should be reviewed by conscientious providers for purposes of Quality Improvement.

Two of my previous employers had a specific program in place, reviewed and approved by legal, where they provided automatic feedback to all referring hospitals. Automatic, no request for info required, approved and legal by HIPAA.

Of course you are in violation of HIPAA if you share this info improperly with someone who wasn't involved in the care of that patient.

It IS appropriate and NOT a HIPAA violation.

[WahooRN08]

I feel it is inappropriate to ask for medical information. I often find it annoying when I am working on the floor and nurses from the sending facility are calling throughout the day to check on the status of a patient. I usually will redirect them to case management.

[cardsRN]

i think this is completely appropriate, as other posters have stated- the sending team was involved in the care of the pt and is seeking info for quality improvement issues. my facility has a procedure in place. the sending facility (or medflight crew) has a code assigned to the pt and they give me the code matching to my pt and that is clearance to release info. they usually only ask if the dx is the same, what procedure/surg the pt had on arrival and if they're stable now. it's all legal in in accordance with my facility's policy, and i'm happy to help other providers improve outcomes. now, as another poster stated- nurses from outside hospitals calling for updates throughout the day... that may be for more personal reasons and may be inappropriate. i would refer those cases to your supervisor if i were you. my $0.02