Accused of HIPPA

[arodgz]

I work in a nursing home and today I had a residents family member (niece specifically) ask me if we put an IV on residents in nursing homes,if needed, because resident did not want to eat. I informed her that we pay alot of attention to the residents intake and charted meal percentages and that if we noticed he is not eating we will notify our nurse and she might contact Dr for options. I went ahead and let my nurse know what I told her and she said shes the niece that I was not supposed to release that info. to her because she does not have POA and to be very carefully with what I say. I was just sharing information about how we track residents diet, I didnt see nothing wrong. Am I wrong?

[redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN]

What you said is definitely not a HIPAA violation. In case you are wondering, it could have been if you told the family member what the resident's meal percentages were or what other diet treatments are in place. From a nursing perspective it can be a bit frustrating when someone (tech, aide, transport, etc.) tells a patient/family we may do A, B, and C. Well, if we only do A, they can be upset that we are not doing B and C, and accuse the nurse of "not doing everything."

This does not even sound like what happened here. I would tell the family "we track the residents' diets. The nurses monitor this and will contact the doctor for future changes. I will have the nurse come in and talk to you more about it." Appropriate response, you recognized the question of the family member, you didn't give away any confidential information, you did not step on the nurse's feet (not that you really did in the first place).

This brings up an interesting question. If a family member comes in and brings mamaw KFC and she's on a pureed diet, is it a violation for me to tell them that she's on a pureed diet and cannot have KFC?

[systoly]

This brings up an interesting question. If a family member comes in and brings mamaw KFC and she's on a pureed diet, is it a violation for me to tell them that she's on a pureed diet and cannot have KFC?

if the pt. is competent and no POA, educate pt. et let pt. decide

if there's a POA (healthcare), educate POA et let POA decide

if the POA says no, you can tell the family member "no per POA" without disclosing reason

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

This brings up an interesting question. If a family member comes in and brings mamaw KFC and she's on a pureed diet, is it a violation for me to tell them that she's on a pureed diet and cannot have KFC?

Good point. I guess I would consider this akin to a family member visiting (not the POA) who is helping the res. stand to get on the toilet. You would have to tell them she can't stand because of a risk for falls. Also, I see a difference between telling the family member, "Sorry, but she can only eat pureed food," versus telling the family member, "she is not eating well and has a UTI so we are going to give IV fluids and antibiotics." Then again, you could say that in either case, a family member who walks in at the right time will see for themselves that the resident has a pureed diet.

[Nola009]

No, you were general enough

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

This brings up an interesting question. If a family member comes in and brings mamaw KFC and she's on a pureed diet, is it a violation for me to tell them that she's on a pureed diet and cannot have KFC?

I wouldn't think so. Family members joined residents for meals all the time when I worked in SNF, and any of them could look around the table and clearly see who's on purees. If someone asked why and we answered with the medical reason for their dysphagia, that would be different.

In any case, it's a safety issue, esp. if the resident is confused and can't make an informed choice whether to risk it or not