How Has HIPAA Impacted Your work environment???

[Monica RN,BSN]

Just wondered How HIPAA has impacted us in our jobs, as I know it depends on what type of setting you are in, and the new federal laws are pretty much the same everywhere.. Did your facility meet the April deadline?? Has this limited you from being able to give a nurse to nurse report by phone? Does this limit the amount of information you receive from a transfering facility? Have your family members gotten really mad because you can no longer tell them about how someone is recovering or declining?

Just Wondering....................

[SmilingBluEyes]

We have PIN numbers here. I dont' rely on them. All I will ever tell anyone is yes, the patient is here, and offer for them to speak the the patient herself or a family member. I say "NUTING" (as Schultz from Hogans Heroes would say). I have always left it up to family to inform others. Too messy in my area. (OB).

[Monica RN,BSN]

No offense, many people call it HIPPA and HIPPO and all sorts of things... But it really is HIPAA, The common misconception is as stated above as Health Information Patient Privacy Act, and it would make better sence as we all know HIPAA as the patient privacy act, but there really is not a HIPPA, only a HIPAA, check it out in any search engine if you are unclear. But...who cares?? It really does not matter any ways, does it???

[Monica RN,BSN]

Sorry for the typos... Long day!!!

[Tink RN]

You tell me

[Monica RN,BSN]

b

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

HIPPA=Horrendous Idiodic Pain in the Proverbial (rear end )

Telling someone that you cannot give out any information on a patients isn't blowing over very well. I don't blame the family members at all, I hate having to tell people that as worried as they are. We are having a time with it on Med-Surg, but our ER ppl don't have very much butt left from families gnawing on it.

We had the policy of turning off the phones in the rooms at 9 pm, but one pt who was in the hospital for 3 weeks was a ring leader on having it changed, because her son and husband both worked evenings and would call her to let her know they are home safe. Only took one person to make a change that time. :)

[WhiteCaps]

HIPPA/HIPAA is a real pain and not worth the efforts and risks!

Most people really don't have big secrets to hide!

But since intitating a PIN# system (we call it PASSCODE), it has made things much easier. How it works is that the business office takes the last 4 numbers of a pt's account # (the current hospital one, not the permanent #) and prints it on a separate form at admission and gives it to the patient or to their POA. The pt, or POA then has full responsibility to decide who to give the number to.

With the number, we give info. People don't seem to mind being asked. If the person asking for info doesn't know the #... then they don't get any info period. It's working!

[Mimi2RN, ASN, RN]

I like the passcode idea. We recently had a problem with a family member calling, saying she was the mother of the infant. One evening she called at the same time as the real mother was on the phone! No info was given to either of them. Next day, when mom came to visit, she decided on a code she would use for info.

[live4today, RN]

HIPAA......HIPPA...whatever the title..........It's a PITA to me, to family members and friends, to patients, and others who feel they have the right to know certain info regarding a patient in our care.

Where I work, passwords or codes are given to very immediate family such as a spouse or child of an elderly parent.

Once again........HIPAA is just one more thing we nurses are dragged in the middle of and have to play "middleman or middlewoman" to. First, we're caught between the patients and their doctors. Now this! Will they ever leave us out of their arguments? :rotfl:

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Originally posted by HARN

since hippa has been implimented I truly have not changed any patient care. I have never given info over the phone. I just say the patient is under our care & if you wish to know the condition call the patients room or come in & talk with the patient. I have never felt talking with the family over the phone is my job. As far as a "PIN #", I have not heard of this. I agree with stevielynn we as hospital employee's are the biggest violators of the hippa rules. I really don't have a problem with it.

I agree we are the worst violators when talking about other patients.

But I disagree that it's not our job to discuss a patients condition with a family member over the phone. Often they just want to know what time an OR is scheduled, or if they had any tests done. I don't intrepret, diagnose, or discuss at length. Just give a enough info that they are happy. I wish dealing with family members wasn't part of our job, don't I wish.

Here in Florida a lot of elderly people have children up north, so I like the PIN system.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Originally posted by Tink RN

Originally posted by 3rdShiftGuy

On admissions, I make sure the NOK or POA of a confused patient gets the PIN #.

3rd ShiftGuy - Tell me more about this PIN# you are referring to. I have never heard of this before. Is this something your facility came up with or is this a standard HIPPA code no one informed me of?

We started it when we started HIPPA. I'm not sure if it is a HIPPA thing or a hospital thing, but as you can see by now other people use it to. Saves a lot of aggravation.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Ugh....we now have to have hospital wide HIPPA inserves AGAIN! Because we had an MD in the hospital, that everyone knows and loves, and whose privacy was violated. Probably some people are going to get fired to set the example.

I now hate HIPPA. But what are people thinking talking about and giving information away about a patient. Aparently is must've been real bad. Ugh.