The client told me that she has been physically abused by her husband.... I am sitting at the couch in the lobby when a physical therapist who also works for the client sat down and i shared with him that the client told me she has been physically abused... I am just concern and i just want the PT to know so she can plan a better care for the client.... esp. the emotional aspect
the client got mad when she knew that i told the PT...
We have a consent that gets signed on admit that gives the interdisciplines the right to talk about things that pertain to pt care. Abuse is def something that pertains to her care. And if she is mad at you, so be it. It's unfortunate that you are worried about being sued. That must be weighing heavily on your mind. You gotta report it.
Specializes in Surgery, Home Health, Infusion Therapy.
If the OP doesn't work in the US, then HIPAA doesn't apply.
Assuming she did, however, how does sharing important information with the health care team violate HIPAA? If the OP shared the info. with another employee at the hospital who was NOT on the patient's health care team, that's another story altogether. I think physical abuse is very relevant information for a PT to have!
I said I had posted prior to the op stating other members of team including the suprevisor were notified. My initial reply was to the first post. I will try and read through the thread better before replying. Sorry for any confusion.
actually i told everyone on the team.. the nurse supervisor, the physician, the physical therapist and the other 2 nurses that cares for her on the different shift....
well, i hope you also informed dietary and housekeeping!!
seriously, you're quite the little chatterbox, aren't you.
You should never talk about details of patient cases in the lobby. That seems to me it would violate privacy / confidentiality policies of any country. Any conversations about patients should take place in a private location.
Also given the amount of trust it took likely for the patient to tell you she was being abused - in some ways you violated that trust by going out and telling anyone you came across who was connected. That patient has lost all control of that information now, information that is very personal to her.
Next time it would be better to keep her in the loop. Tell her you work as a team and that you will be sharing that info with the team to better support her. Acknowledge how scary it is to put something like that out in the open, not knowing what that disclosure will mean - as it is will probably be the catalyst for many changes, some she may never even have thought about. Talk her through the process, and let her know if you are mandated to report.
I have no idea of the laws of your country but I would consider your actions to be unprofessional and disrespectful.
Specializes in Spinal Cord injuries, Emergency+EMS.
the client is 35 year old admitted due to palpitations , fainting and extreme fatigue. she has 2 sons... 8 and 6 year old.
her husband, as she told me, was alcoholic and hurt her whenever intoxicated....
i told the physical therapist so she could validate if what the client saying is the truth .. because i guess as a PT she knew if the injury is caused by an abuse or not right?
actually i told everyone on the team.. the nurse supervisor, the physician, the physical therapist and the other 2 nurses that cares for her on the different shift....
im not in the U.S so we have no laws about reporting it to government agencies or police.
not reporting Domestic violence especially if there are Children in the house is something which is going to land you in it , i know of no place or country were not reporting and not sharing this within the team would be officially tolerated.
Specializes in Spinal Cord injuries, Emergency+EMS.
well, i hope you also informed dietary and housekeeping!!
seriously, you're quite the little chatterbox, aren't you.
leslie
Quite why anyone gave kudos for this unnecessary attack I don't know, letting the Nursing team and the responsible Doctor know about a disclosure of Domestic violence is relevant clinical information, and I can see no reason why this information shouldn't be shared with Physio especially if it's likely to impact on the care the patient receives.
To be honest i'm in two minds whether to report the post on the basis of it trivialising proper information sharing about a serious matter.
you should never talk about details of patient cases in the lobby. that seems to me it would violate privacy / confidentiality policies of any country. any conversations about patients should take place in a private location.
that is a very good point.
also given the amount of trust it took likely for the patient to tell you she was being abused - in some ways you violated that trust by going out and telling anyone you came across who was connected. that patient has lost all control of that information now, information that is very personal to her.
i disagree. i think her health care team should know this critical information. in fact, in many cases, this would be considered a "must report" situation, especially given the fact that young children are in the home.
next time it would be better to keep her in the loop. tell her you work as a team and that you will be sharing that info with the team to better support her. acknowledge how scary it is to put something like that out in the open, not knowing what that disclosure will mean - as it is will probably be the catalyst for many changes, some she may never even have thought about. talk her through the process, and let her know if you are mandated to report.
Quite why anyone gave kudos for this unnecessary attack I don't know, letting the Nursing team and the responsible Doctor know about a disclosure of Domestic violence is relevant clinical information, and I can see no reason why this information shouldn't be shared with Physio especially if it's likely to impact on the care the patient receives.
To be honest i'm in two minds whether to report the post on the basis of it trivialising proper information sharing about a serious matter.
aw geez, i was playing around.
but by all means, report me.
goodness knows i can't tell you to bite me.
leslie
eta: i did reread my post, and what led up to it.
and i would have written the same thing again.
if you can't see how the op's statement (about who he told) led me into joking around about that, then i can only chalk it up to you having a bad day.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
well, i hope you also informed dietary and housekeeping!!
seriously, you're quite the little chatterbox, aren't you.
leslie
:hhmth: I just spit coffee all over my computer!!!! Tooooo Funny!
Seriously though, it's a fine line. a 35 year old isn't technically "protected" by any laws......speaking of the USA of course......but it would affect her recovery and care and it is already apparent the stress is getting to her. As a general rule what healthcare providers share with each other for the care of a patient is protected from prosecution and you usually have to show malicious intent to be slanderous. I am really concerned for the kids.......you shoulod call your equivalent of children protection services to ensure the chuildren are safe!
I disagree. I think her health care team should know this critical information. In fact, in many cases, this would be considered a "must report" situation, especially given the fact that young children are in the home.
I agree with you and I didn't mean she shouldn't inform the team, I agree it could potentially be a must report and that the team a should know. However I think there are ways of doing that that are still respectful to the patient and that show understanding of the sensitivity of disclosing abuse, rather than just rushing around, telling anyone you can find that so and so just told you she was abused. Any trust the patient had in the OP is now gone...trust that could have supported the patient through this situation.
:hhmth: i just spit coffee all over my computer!!!! tooooo funny!
seriously though, it's a fine line. a 35 year old isn't technically "protected" by any laws......speaking of the usa of course......but it would affect her recovery and care and it is already apparent the stress is getting to her. as a general rule what healthcare providers share with each other for the care of a patient is protected from prosecution and you usually have to show malicious intent to be slanderous. i am really concerned for the kids.......you shoulod call your equivalent of children protection services to ensure the chuildren are safe!
in certain states, abusing your spouse or significant other in front of minor children is actually considered child abuse, is a criminal felony and therefore could actually fall into the realm of a mandated report. it just depends on the circumstances and particular law in that state.
Quite why anyone gave kudos for this unnecessary attack I don't know, letting the Nursing team and the responsible Doctor know about a disclosure of Domestic violence is relevant clinical information, and I can see no reason why this information shouldn't be shared with Physio especially if it's likely to impact on the care the patient receives.
To be honest i'm in two minds whether to report the post on the basis of it trivialising proper information sharing about a serious matter.
1. The physician, needed to know.
2. The physical therapist..did NOT need to know.
3. The whole nursing team did NOT need to know.
4. The nurse who you are DIRECTLY giving report to, needs to know...not the ones that took care of her before hand or who MIGHT take care of her later...ONLY who you give report to...this is the essence of HIPAA (assuming you have something similar in your country).
However, nowhere did the OP say she CHARTED any of it!!!!
If you did not document the conversation...then it never occurred.
glutton4punishment
142 Posts
We have a consent that gets signed on admit that gives the interdisciplines the right to talk about things that pertain to pt care. Abuse is def something that pertains to her care. And if she is mad at you, so be it. It's unfortunate that you are worried about being sued. That must be weighing heavily on your mind. You gotta report it.