First, let me say that I feel safe posting this message here..and have always been able to "feel the love" on this site.:icon_hug:
I work long-term care, with Alzheimer's Dementia residents. Recently, the charge nurse went to a site that offers detailed background checks for a fee (the more you're willing to pay, supposedly the more information you have access to)
Well, we have a resident with advanced dementia that often makes sexualized remarks (some are quite alarming--but that is often the case with dementia)
This nurse logged on to a background check web-site, entered the resident's name/DOB & proceeded to pay ~ $75 for a detailed report (28 pages or so) ---" to find out if the resident was a pedophile or sex offender":typing
This nurse later talked openly about running this report, having charged it to a credit card while on the company computer, then went on & on about everything in the lengthy report-- including the value of his home, all of his financial assets, a history of charitable contributions he & his wife had made...even details of a death certificate from a son who had died years ago.---
This alarmed me on many levels:
1) She apparently has a LOT of free time while clocked in on company time
2) She's got some money burning a hole in her pocket
3) HIPAA...isn't this some type of violation?
Even though the information is "out there for the taking", thanks to the Internet, aren't there ethical issues here, with this nurse being directly involved in care?--and What about the rapport the facility is supposed to have with the spouse & family?
(I don't know how this nurse can even look the family in the eye after this):chair: I, personally, cannot imagine how the family would feel if they were to ever learn of this. (I'd be appalled if I were them)
Another staff member & I brought it to the attention of management....only to be told that they "saw no problem with running a background check, but in the future, they had requested that such inquiries be addressed by administration"
The 10 or so employees that heard the chatter from the one obtaining the report are baffled.
Have any of you guys ever heard of such a thing?
My thoughts on it are this:
First, we have access to the admission & personal history paperwork in the medical record. The spouse/family of patients are available to provide any information truly needed to have a better understanding of the resident/provide better care, etc.
If any patient of mine has commited a crime, they've paid their debt to society & I am responsible for providing care. Period.
Judge & jury aren't part of my job desciption. (I worked 5 years in Corrections, so I've been around all types)
I just had to vent this. It leaves me totally baffled that anyone would have such a morbid curiousity & go to such extremes..talk about it...and think that there's nothing wrong with their actions.
First of all- DEMENTIA! Doesn't mean they're a sexual offender. I had a patient with dementia tell me we were going to fly to Hawaii in a pineapple plane- what they say doesn't mean it's true.
Secondly, I would say it was a HIPAA violation too. She used information from a private medical record for something it was not intended for. This is reportable.
Exactly what would have she done if she saw that he was a sexual offender? Would she have him removed from the facility? Refuse to care for him? You said it best when you said that we care for all types. A person's past should not dictate the type of care they recieve.
There are lots of sites some government and state run to see if someone is a sex offender. I don't think she was looking for that information, more the other information you said.
i would imagine in order to run a background check, you would have to provide the persons social security number as well as other information. she stole this information from the patients records. can we say "identity theft" boys and girls. can we also say "hipaa" ?
what she did was sick and wrong ! she should be fired at the least and possibly lose her license !
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Aneroo, LPN
1,518 Posts
First of all- DEMENTIA! Doesn't mean they're a sexual offender. I had a patient with dementia tell me we were going to fly to Hawaii in a pineapple plane- what they say doesn't mean it's true.
Secondly, I would say it was a HIPAA violation too. She used information from a private medical record for something it was not intended for. This is reportable.