Employer told everyone results of my TB test!

Nurses General Nursing

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I work in a small law office, and I'm taking a CNA class right now, and had to get a TB test. The test came back positive. I hada very small reaction, which wouldn't have required any further testing except that when I become a CNA and then start nursing schoool, I'lll be around people with comprimsed immune systems.

Well, I told my boss (because I have to get a chest x-ray and needed a few hours off), and he told the whole office!!! Everyone knows, and I feel like a leper!

To top it off, his father is a Dr., and today at 2:00 we are having a meeting so the whole office can ask questions about my "disease".

I feel so embarassed and violated. Normally my boss is a very nice person, but he has crossed a line. When he sent the memo about the 2:00 meeting, I had to take a break and go cry. I felt like leaving and never coming back.

What would you do in this situation?

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Specializes in Home Care, Hospice, OB.

find a competing law office and sue...for violations too numerous to list, including stupidity, since a positive ppd does not equal active tb!:devil:

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find a competing law office and sue...for violations too numerous to list, including stupity, since a positive ppd does not equal active tb!:devil:

echos exactly what i posted but didn't come up..grrr.

you might also want to inform this "lawyer" he might want to brush up on his privacy laws..and tell him to ask "doctor daddy" about hippa and other such laws :eek:

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I'd bring a lawyer of my own. It is none of their business about your health! And...in the future, I wouldn't tell them why I needed the time off except to say, I have an appt.

Good luck.

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

You might also want to inform this "lawyer" he might want to brush up on his privacy laws..and tell him to ask "doctor daddy" about HIPPA and other such laws :eek:

I agree that the employer should not have shared this information, and is handling the whole thing badly. But there is no HIPAA violation.

The TB test was not related to the OP's employment. The OP naively shared the results with her employer in order to get time off work for a follow-up CXR. Her boss is not her healthcare provider and is not obligated to keep this information confidential, since it was not employment related. If she had told her boss she needed time off because she had the flu and he repeated that, would he be accused of a HIPAA violation? Same thing.

The real lesson to be learned here is that we have no obligation to share personal, private medical information with our co-workers or employers, and to do so risks having it repeated.

An apology is warranted. A lawsuit is not.

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Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.
I agree that the employer should not have shared this information, and is handling the whole thing badly. But there is no HIPAA violation.

The TB test was not related to the OP's employment. The OP naively shared the results with her employer in order to get time off work for a follow-up CXR. Her boss is not her healthcare provider and is not obligated to keep this information confidential, since it was not employment related. If she had told her boss she needed time off because she had the flu and he repeated that, would he be accused of a HIPAA violation? Same thing.

The real lesson to be learned here is that we have no obligation to share personal, private medical information with our co-workers or employers, and to do so risks having it repeated.

An apology is warranted. A lawsuit is not.

That is my thought, too. Next time say you are simply going to have some medical testing done so you need time off. You do not have to share what testing you are having. If your boss is not a health care provider, he can say whatever he wants. It is NOT very professional on his/her part for sharing that information, though.

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The TB test was not related to the OP's employment. Her boss is not her healthcare provider and is not obligated to keep this information confidential, since it was not employment related.

This is true for the most part but if the employer offers self-funded insurance (I happen to work for an insurance company that does a lot of self-funded policies)..the employeer DOES have to follow HIPAA. If the company offers self funded insurance, and the OP does have that insurance, chances are she will have a medical claim filed for the TB test and CXR. Thus it is PHI and now becomes a HIPAA violation

Per HIPAA

What is a covered entity?

The privacy rule applies to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers. It applies to employers only to the extent that they somehow operate in one or more of those capacities. The same standards apply to covered entities in both the public and private sectors.

How might an employer be a covered entity?

Normally, an employer will only deal with covered entities, not actually be one. However, if an employer has any kind of health clinic operations available to employees, or provides a self-insured health plan for employees, or acts as the intermediary between its employees and health care providers, it will find itself handling the kind of PHI that is protected by the HIPAA privacy rule

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

In the future, just say you have a doctor's appointment and thats why you need the day off. Never give details. It's none of their business. I would also let your boss know he violated HIPAA by letting everyone know what is "wrong" with you. Hire a lawyer stat and make sure you tell your boss that you will not be coming to the "meeting" that they are having to discuss what is wrong with you.

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....make sure you tell your boss that you will not be coming to the "meeting" that they are having to discuss what is wrong with you.

Yeah, I wasn't planning on being at the meeting. I just feel so...embarassed and depressed about the whole thing. I really don't want to sit there for an hour with everyone feeling uncomfotable with me.

My thing is, this wouldn't be happening in any other workplace. Also, he is calling this a CDC meeting. If the CDC were concerned at all, they would have told me to be in isolation.

He is a germ-phobe who is overreacting to what is essentially a germ I was exposed to.

I just feel so disgusted by the way he's handled this.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

If it was me, I would tell my employer, like right now, that I will not be coming to any meeting that is set up to discuss something that you may or may not have. Secondly, I would tell him that if he moves forward with this meeting, it is a direct HIPAA violation and any further discussion of your possible medical diagnosis will cause you to seek legal action. I would resign immediately if I were you, if it is at all possible.

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Her employer did violate her right to confidentiality regaurding her health.

What I would do is go to the meeting, but prepare your own powerpoint about what a postive TB test means! Mine ALWAYS comes out postive, but my chest xray is always negative. The reaction I have is horrific, but I don't have TB

The thing is if everyone were required to have a PPD done there would be more reactions than people realize.

He shouldn't be calling a meeting about it. What you need to do is educate your coworkers because I guarnatee your boss will not know half the info you will on the subject.

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A CDC meeting??? Oh, so now he's an employee of the CDC?? Yeah, if the CDC wanted this meeting you can rest assured that you would be in isolation and on some heavy duty meds! This man is a joke. I wonder what the REAL CDC people would think of him claiming " a CDC meeting" by him.

Just for my own curiosity, do you have health insurance through this guy? And if so, pllleeease tell me it is a self funded policy!! If it is..OH BOY this guy is in deep doo-doo!

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