patient privacy, arghh!!!!

[renee2004]

Could the nurses here help me understand this situation.

On New Years eve, my sister, her best friend and the boyfriend to the best friend were involved in a horrible car wreck.

When we got to the hospital after 2am, all 3 were in the ER. My sister was laid in a brace in terrible pain waiting for the doctor.

We were very concerned about her close friends also. We kept asking about the condition but were told nothing. All that happened was that the nurse kept coming to ask us for phone numbers to get in touch with the family of her best friend.

We gave all the information we had but they were not able to get anyone, we later found out they had gone for an all night church service and we did not have the mum's cell phone number.

We did not get hold of them till Saturday morning.

The whole night the hospital insisted that the girl's family were the only ones to get any info, one patient care rep let us know that her condition was not good and that is why they needed her family. I think she only said this because she realised how concerned we were.

When we finally got the family to join us at the hospital around 10am we were informed she had passed away at night, some time after 2am.

It is so sad that she had no one by her side when she passed. If this every happened to my family I would want someone there by their side if I could not be there. It is INHUMANE to let people die alone when they have a close friend nearby who could give them some comfort.

Is this the procedure everywhere? THey kept saying it is privacy, privacy issues, maybe HIPAA.

If that is the usual practice, it SUCKS and someone needs to change it.

It is one thing asking to get someone's private hospital information and it is another just wanting to know the condition of a person so that you could be there for them.

The boyfriend remained hospitalized with an injured lung, injured kidney, broken ribs, internal bleeding and could not walk.

I could understand not letting another sick patient see a fellow sick patient because that could make them deteriorate, but we were there healthy and strong and kept answering their questions and kept asking for info......

I really think this SUCKS!:stone

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

Renee, please accept my sincere condolences on the loss of your friend's sister in this tragic accident. I hope that your sister and her friend's boyfriend will recover from their injuries quickly.

I would like to address a couple of your quotes, if I may:

When we got to the hospital after 2am, all 3 were in the ER.

we were informed she had passed away at night, some time after 2am.

Is it at all possible that she passed away before you got to the hospital?

In any case, you asked for nurses to help you understand what happened, and I would like to try.

The three were brought to the hospital. Your sister's best friend was placed in a trauma room and the doctor, several nurses, and other staff were frantically giving medications and doing treatments in an effort to keep her alive.

We have expertise, education, and practice, but what drives us to be better, get faster, and try harder is not that we can brag about how good we are in a trauma. It's because we have sisters who have best friends. We have moms and dads and children of our own. It's because we have thoughts like, "My God, this could be my child here," or "She's just too young to die," that we hold the hand of the dying, that we keep doing CPR long after it's sensible. We don't do it out of professional pride. We save lives because we value life. A stranger's life is as our own. We give our patients what we would want our family to have.

I might not express it very well here, but you need to know that when your sister's friend died in that trauma room, she was not alone at all, but the center of intense activity. Someone was giving medications, someone was giving oxygen, someone was searching for vital signs.

I can assure you that someone was at that bedside who cared, someone was holding her hand, someone was urging her to live despite the great injury she sustained.

But at some point, they knew that she was gone, and that she had been gone for awhile. At some point, they had to stop. They had to let go.

They've had a very short, intense relationship with this person, yet it was hard, extremely hard, to let go.

There were tears in the eyes of those nurses for a woman who was not their family, not their friend....but who might have been. There were prayers going up for you and your sister, her friend, boyfriend and family that you might not have heard--but they were said. There were people who were in that room who will never forget how hard they fought for her life.

Because they cared.

I hope you will accept this in the spirit in which it is offered. No, it's not the best system in the world. You're right, it still sucked that laws stood in the way of what would seem to be common human decency.

But please know, she did not die alone in a crowd of uncaring people.

Please know that.

[dosamigos76, RN]

Angie O'Plasty, Wow!!! All I can say is "thank you" for what you do and for taking the time to say what you did. It wasn't my family, but I received comfort from what you took the time to post. You have a gift, thank you for sharing it.

Cheryl

[SmilingBluEyes]

I am sorry for the loss and for the horrible way you feel-------things are out of control in healthcare today, what can we say? it's so sad.

[Pattiecake]

"There were tears in the eyes of those nurses for a woman who was not their family, not their friend....but who might have been. There were prayers going up for you and your sister, her friend, boyfriend and family that you might not have heard--but they were said. There were people who were in that room who will never forget how hard they fought for her life.

Because they cared."

Angioplasty

That was so beautifully said. I have been that nurse in the ER. I have held the unclaimed when they died and prayed for them and their families. I held them in my heart, in my memory, stroked and held their hand. Working in the ER allows you to become the best friend of the trauma patient. You don't forget them. The unclaimed trauma patient becomes a part of the trauma team's family. I wish I could have put it as beautifully as you.

[begalli]

Angie O'Plasy, RN,

I nominate your reply as post of the year or maybe the decade.

Beautifully expressed.

Thank you.

[renee2004]

thanks for the kind words.

thanks for making me feel better that she was not alone.

whoever is behind this HIPPA stuff should have been at the funeral today when everyone hang on to every word that my sister spoke in the eulogy as she spoke about all they did before the accident. You could see the family hurting that they were not there and were somewhat not represented.

even though it was not the fault of the stuff at the Lawrenceville hospital, it has just left a horrible memory for me about this GA hospital.

thanks for the kinds words though. I hope these crazy laws will improve someday.

[flashpoint]

HIPAA actually allows for medical personnel to use their common sense when making decisions about who to disclose information to. In a situation where someone has potential life threats, I would notify a friend or acquaintance of the the patient if I were unable to reach a family member...HIPAA does allow this! We also have the option of requesting assistance from law enforcement, friends of the patient, or just about anyone else who might be able to help locate family members...we have called patient's employers, neighbors, ex-spouses, etc. Also, if no family is available, someone who claims to be a friend, coworker, etc is generally given whatever information is available and is allowed and encouraged to be at the patient's bedside. Certainly, we can't rattle off a bunch of past medical history to a person's coworker, but if they are the only person available, they can generally be given just about any information pertinent to the patient's current condition.

This hospital did the patient and their loved ones a HUGE injustice...I am just floored that this woman died alone because of nurses and other staff who were afraid of the HIPAA police...