Hipaa violation

[123anonymous]

I work in a clinic as an MA and about two weeks ago i heard our pods nurse ask another nurse to check if another co-worker kid had really gone to the ER the previous night. Ofcourse the other nurse denied and i later asked what had the pod nurse had asked and was told that she was trying to find out if the coworkers child had been seen in the ER to

get her fired im deathly scared to report her because noone went in the chart but i did hear her ask. Is this hipaa violation can she get fired? And if i report her and she use it against me if they find no cause to fire her

[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

It would be best to stop "overhearing" other peoples conversations and filling in the blanks with what you want to believe. After all, you probably have actual work to do while you're at work.

If I had to guess, I'd say no one is going to be very interested in what you heard person one say to person two about person three two weeks ago. Bringing up a complaint so petty and vague is only going to make you seem like the problem.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I think it is best if you do not get involved. It is best to stay out of these situations. I don't know what a pods nurse is but it is best to stay out of situations that don't concern you. Eavesdropping and gossip are also a way for one to lose his/her job.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

First off, the best thing you can do is to stay out of the fray. That gives you a reputation of not getting involved in other people's business.

Looking at it objectively, if the nurse in question has paid time off (or even unpaid time off) then it really doesn't matter what the reasoning is. The person was approved for the day off, called out, whatever. And whatever the policy is--some places it is 3 days and you need a note from MD....it would be up to the nurse to provide what they needed, and not the business of anyone else. Sometimes there are nurses who are not feeling well, and instead of getting attitude and the third degree, they do give some sort of excuse. It stinks to have to give a running tale of why one is calling out. And if people call out enough, there is a discipline process.

With all that being said, at the end of the day, there is not one thing that the nurses can do with the information regarding the ER visit or lack thereof. By acknowledging that they looked in the chart, they are violating patient privacy. If they use the EMR, then there is a footprint that directly leads back to them.

Watch your back in this place. And as a complete aside, be sure that any documentation that you do in the computer, or any time you log onto the computer, LOG OFF when you are done. Don't ever leave your computer open under your name. That is good practice to get into, even better practice when your co-workers are digging up dirt.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Does your facility have an EMR? If so, many facilities have a "break the glass" function that is in place for employees' records as well as their immediate family members. You have to bypass the "break the glass" screen in order to access the record, and HIM will get reports of all "break the glass" records that were accessed and by whom, and they will investigate to make sure anyone accessing the record has the right to be there.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

You're too far removed from the actual situation, why would YOU report this? Let the nurse who was asked to verify the information report the coworker