This is a stretch to call HIPAA violation

[T-Bird78]

I work in an outpatient clinic and recently went to EMR. As part of meaningful use, the front desk is required to print a summary of the day's office visit for each pt. One day a teenager and their parent came in, and upon checking out the parent went to the restroom so the front desk staff gave the office summary to the pt, who put it in their backpack. A week later the parent called, raising cain, and yelling HIPAA because, and I quote, "If someone else had gotten their backpack and opened it they'd see all her medical information!", then proceeded to call our business office and file a HIPAA violation complaint against our office. Since then, the front desk staff has to print the office visit summary and put it in a sealed envelope (now there's an option for pts to opt-out of receiving the summary). I tried to reassure our front desk that they did NOT violate HIPAA because they gave the pt their own summary and once it's out the door it's out of our hands. Was that a violation?

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I think the OP's office should have backed her up and provided some HIPAA training to the parent. I also think that folks who throw fits as a first step ought not to be rewarded. (Or any tantrum -- it just provides positive reinforcement for the abhorrent behavior.)

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

What happens with that information after its in the patients hands is up to them.

This. Even if they'd given it to the mother, someone could have stolen her purse with the info in it. She could have accidentally thrown it into the trash can with other random papers. She could have accidentally dropped it. None of that is the clinic's responsibility

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

How does one become a member if the crusty old bat society?I want to join!

[CamillusRN, BSN]

Absolutely not. And putting the reports in a sealed envelope won't prevent the patient from unsealing it and stowing it in the backpack either. It really boggles me how much the public still doesn't "get" about HIPAA.

[CamillusRN, BSN]

I bet the parents called it HIPPA, too!

I 'd at this!

[bsyrn, ASN, RN]

Just another example of how having a little knowledge is dangerous! No this wasn't a HIPAA violation and I am sorry this happened :)

[elkpark]

This. Even if they'd given it to the mother, someone could have stolen her purse with the info in it. She could have accidentally thrown it into the trash can with other random papers. She could have accidentally dropped it. None of that is the clinic's responsibility

Of course -- but I'm sure the mother's beef is that they didn't put it into her hands. They gave it to the kid, which, in most states, is the legal equivalent of just laying it on the counter and walking away. If the office staff had just waited for Mom to come out of the bathroom, and given the form to the mother, all of this could have avoided.

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

Doesn't sound like a violation to me. What did they expect from this???

$$$$ and their 15 minutes of bashing the medical profession on FB or other social media!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Of course -- but I'm sure the mother's beef is that they didn't put it into her hands. They gave it to the kid, which, in most states, is the legal equivalent of just laying it on the counter and walking away. If the office staff had just waited for Mom to come out of the bathroom, and given the form to the mother, all of this could have avoided.

I think that depends upon the age of the kid.

[elkpark]

I think that depends upon the age of the kid.

In the practical sense of can this kid be trusted with a piece of paper for five minutes without losing or destroying it, sure. But, in most states, a minor child, even one who is 17 years and 364 days old, is a minor child and has no legal right to give or withhold consent for medical procedures and, outside of specific reproductive issues, no right to privacy in healthcare matters, and no real right to information about her/his health status -- all of those rights belong to the parent/guardian -- and that office visit summary and the protected information on it really, legally, belongs to the mother/parent. I'm (still) not saying this deserves, in any kind of rational world, to be considered a HIPAA violation (or any other kind of violation, for that matter), but I can see, unfortunately, where the mom can make the case that the office staff screwed up by giving the form to the adolescent instead of directly to her, which, in terms of healthcare privacy rights if she wants to get persnickety about it, is the same as if the office staff had given the form to some random stranger in the office lobby to hold until she came out of the bathroom.

Maybe the teen is entirely responsible and trustworthy. Maybe the teen is someone the mom knows is really irresponsible and would lose his head if it wasn't screwed on and the form had some really sensitive personal information on it. None of us knows the particulars of this situation.

I think it's ridiculous and a shame that she wants to make a fuss about such a small thing, and the entire situation could have been avoided if they had just waited for her to come out of the bathroom. I'm just saying that, unfortunately, I think she does have some ground to stand on in this matter.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

In the practical sense of can this kid be trusted with a piece of paper for five minutes without losing or destroying it, sure. But, in most states, a minor child, even one who is 17 years and 364 days old, is a minor child and has no legal right to give or withhold consent for medical procedures and, outside of specific reproductive issues, no right to privacy in healthcare matters, and no real right to information about her/his health status -- all of those rights belong to the parent/guardian -- and that office visit summary and the protected information on it really, legally, belongs to the mother/parent. I'm (still) not saying this deserves, in any kind of rational world, to be considered a HIPAA violation (or any other kind of violation, for that matter), but I can see, unfortunately, where the mom can make the case that the office staff screwed up by giving the form to the adolescent instead of directly to her, which, in terms of healthcare privacy rights if she wants to get persnickety about it, is the same as if the office staff had given the form to some random stranger in the office lobby to hold until she came out of the bathroom.

Maybe the teen is entirely responsible and trustworthy. Maybe the teen is someone the mom knows is really irresponsible and would lose his head if it wasn't screwed on and the form had some really sensitive personal information on it. None of us knows the particulars of this situation.

I think it's ridiculous and a shame that she wants to make a fuss about such a small thing, and the entire situation could have been avoided if they had just waited for her to come out of the bathroom. I'm just saying that, unfortunately, I think she does have some ground to stand on in this matter.

I was 17 years, 364 days and 9 hours away from turning 18 when I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Technically any medical decision making belonged to my mother at that exact minute but, in all practicality, there was nothing to be done in the 9 hours before I turned 18 and if she had wanted to do something that I didn't want to do, there would have been no time for an ethics consult before midnight and it would have become a moot point.

Looking back, in the year and a half that followed, providers were not exactly appropriate with the way they dealt with me as an 18 year old. They would bring my parents into the room from the get-go, ask me questions about drinking and drug use in front of them (even for minor teenagers these questions should be asked outside of the parents' presence) and talk to them instead of me. I did tell a few doctors after I turned 19 that they were not to communicate with my parents- one called my mother behind my back and I found out because this was back in the days of answering machines and I heard the message before my mother did. You better believe I called that office and ripped them a new one for violating my rights.

Anyway, in the OP's case it doesn't say how old the teenager in question is. Maybe the mother knew only some of what went on at the visit and something was disclosed about sexual health which guarantees the adolescent confidentiality and giving him the form wasn't a big deal.

[Angeljho, MSN, NP]

Absolutely not. And putting the reports in a sealed envelope won't prevent the patient from unsealing it and stowing it in the backpack either. It really boggles me how much the public still doesn't "get" about HIPAA.

The crazy thing is that most health professionals I know don't "get" HIPAA either.