Can posting about a friend breach HIPAA?

[MOVAN15]

I just graduated earlier in the year from nursing school and was confused when a friend told me that I was potentially violating HIPAA due to this scenario:

I was notified of a friends hospitalization through Facebook by her father and visited her. She just so happened to be at the same hospital/facility that I work at. I saw her on a day off and with her permission asked if I could share with a private group an update (which went along the lines, "she is doing better and could use some thoughts and prayers") - she agreed and appreciated the thoughtfulness. If I share this on social media, am I breaking HIPAA? She was never my patient and I never read any of her medical information...so this is where my friend (who also graduated nursing school with me) confused me with this comment?

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

HIPPA Violation and your action falls outside of TRB and the information belongs to the facility not for you to go looking on this information. Patient themselves need to sign a release for their own information to be released generally..... HIPPA violation YES

That's nonsense. HIPAA violation NO.

What information "belongs to the facility"? The fact that the patient is doing better and "could use some prayers" is not the facility's "information." And NO, a patient does NOT need to sign a release to allow friends and family to notify other friends and family that they could use a prayer or two. That's just preposterous.

The OP was not a health care provider in this scenario. She was visiting a friend; she represented no one at the facility. She had the express permission from the patient to ask for prayers from other friends. By no stretch of the imagination was this a HIPAA violation.

By this standard, CaringBridge must be making thousands of violations per day as family members and friends post updates on their loved ones' progress!

[CelticGoddess, BSN, RN]

HIPPA Violation and your action falls outside of TRB and the information belongs to the facility not for you to go looking on this information. Patient themselves need to sign a release for their own information to be released generally..... HIPPA violation YES

where do you get your information from?

First off, please note the spelling: HIPAA (two As, one P). Second, nowhere did the person in question access the PHI of her friend. She got the information from her friend and friends father.

This is an example of a violation: While inpatient at a sister facility, a co-worker (who admitted to the manager she didn't really believe I was sick) accessed my PHI and shared it with several other co-workers. She had no reason to access my records and doing that and sharing were most certainly violations. (She was sacked)

Honestly, it really isn't that difficult to understand!

[LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP]

When I was a bedside nurse, I received a call on my way into work. It was parents' best friends (essentially family to us, they would have taken custody of me and my sister had anything ever happened to my parents) They called to tell me their son and his wife (I've known his son since he was born, he is my "cousin") had a set of premature twins and one has anomalies and they are going to be at the hospital/unit where I work.

Because they are essentially family, I made sure charge knew I could not take care of either baby, and I had the parents sign a release of information that I could discuss things with my parents/family. I would never enter the chart, and the only information I would hear is from the family, but there's always the risk of overhearing information. I made sure it was covered from every angle.

I also had a situation where a former coworker from when I used to work in retail ended up being a patient LOL I did end up needing to take care of that baby, but I had no one to share it with (not that I would have) so there weren't as many concerns.

My "funny" story - I was taking care of a baby who ended up dying. I completely freaked out when I was scrolling through facebook and saw a picture of the baby! I freaked out for a moment, already starting to prepare the case for how this was not my fault. Then it finally registered that it was posted from a mutual acquaintance who was fundraising for the family. Gave me a heart attack for a moment though!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Years ago, my father was dying and my husband and I worked on opposite shifts in the same hospital. Our shifts didn't overlap, and we had about twenty minutes between when he was off duty and I needed to be on duty. Typically, I'd call the hospital where my father was a patient and get an update on his condition before leaving home. My husband would meet me at the parking garage and walk me up to my unit, and I'd fill him in on Dad's condition.

One day, it had been an unusually eventful day, and we had walked all the way to the elevator and I was still updating my husband as we waited for the elevator and rode upstairs. Both of us in scrubs, both wearing IDs and stethoscopes and talking in medical terminology. Not long after my shift started, I was called into the manager's office to talk about a possible HIPAA violation. It seems that one of the visitors from our ICU heard me discussing my father's code, intubation, drips, drugs and test results. Even though the conversation was also peppered with references to my mother and a discussion of whether or not it was time for me to fly back home (it was), the visitor took it upon herself to complain to my manager.

My manager was fully aware of my father's situation AND the fact that my husband frequently met me at the parking garage to walk me up to the unit. She knew that the conversation was about my father, and just wanted to warn me to be "be a little more discreet." (And I should have been, although I was upset, and I wouldn't have had another chance to talk to my husband until the next day at that time.) I shudder to imagine the consequences if my manager had not been aware of the situation, or had not known and trusted me.

[JKL33]

On 3/3/2019 at 4:59 PM, Ruby Vee said:

She knew that the conversation was about my father, and just wanted to warn me to be "be a little more discreet." (And I should have been, although I was upset, and I wouldn't have had another chance to talk to my husband until the next day at that time.) I shudder to imagine the consequences if my manager had not been aware of the situation, or had not known and trusted me.

I would have had to use my "I mean business" persona had I been called into an office for that and told to be more discreet.

Nosey busybodies suck.

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

Nope, no violation. Just be sure that if it's ever brought up...or anyone you know is in the hospital, ask for a different assignment. This prevents lines from being blurred.

You did nothing wrong b/c all of your information was directly from your friend.

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

On 5/15/2017 at 4:14 PM, not.done.yet said:

Had she not consented, then yes, it would be a HIPAA violation. However, you had her consent and as such were within HIPAA guidelines. That being said, that consent was not in writing and you are held to a higher standard now. I would think if she is well enough for visitors she is well enough to pop onto Facebook long enough to post the sentence you wrote.

Remember, anything that even acknowledges someone is in a medical building cannot be disclosed without their permission. It does not have to contain medical information specifically.

I disagree, depends on how she found out. Friendships don't end just because someone is in the hospital, nor does HIPAA regulations make what would OTHERWISE BE PERMISSIBLE, suddenly a violation just because you know someone.

So if my mother ends up in the hospital where I work, I can't post that on Facebook to update friends and family even though I have never accessed the chart nor been assigned to her?

Her friend is no different.

Not even close to a HIPAA violation.