When I was in nursing school, I got in this big old argument with my spouse. Apparently, HIPAA shouldn't apply when you're married. "People just assume that spouses will tell each other everything." Also, my very favorite, "if my mom/dad/sister/dog's cousin is in the hospital, you owe it to me to tell me about it."
Well, call me Puritan Patty, but no. I won't tell, and I owe nothing. I may share stories, but never identifiers. My personal feeling on this is my duty when I am working is to the patient, and when I clock out, that doesn't end. Maybe his mom has been admitted for end stage syphillus and doesn't want her son to know she's been sleeping with the milk man. I don't know! I just know there will already be an awkward moment there where I will need to make sure the patient knows I'm not telling our mutual relations what is going on. I'm not violating that.
Anyway, this became a huge argument. One that just went away as fast as it started and has since, not come up again. I figured he knew I was very adamant about this and it wasn't worth trying. Plus, I don't work at the "local hospital", so as of now, I've seen one total person there that I actually know in regular life. And no, I didn't tell anyone.
So today, he calls me and asks me, "did you have a ___ year old girl named ________ as your patient yesterday? She's the wife of a guy my dad knows."
"Mr. Ixchel, you know I can't tell you that."
"I'm not asking if she was there. I already know she was. Was she your patient?"
"I still can't tell you that!"
If you want to know the truth, I don't even know if I did. I'm absolute crap at names. The person was not a normal demographic for my unit, and I did have someone fitting her description, but I don't remember that patient's name. I'm HIPAA-fied when I leave that building. So even if I wanted to tell him, I couldn't. And I know, know, know, anything I tell him, he will tell other people. I mean look.... First time he actually asks, it's for his dad. *sigh*
Anyone else deal with this? I figured I'd have friends who don't know better ask stuff like this. Honestly, if they did, I'd just say I don't know and be done with it. Good grief, though..... He already knows I won't tell him. Guess he figured the worst I'd do is exactly what I did? (Not tell him, I mean.)
