So, I thought I'd ask here. There is someone in my clinical group who, for reasons best left unsaid, I am not fond of. I can tolerate him, but he's just not someone I would ever go share a beer with. Because of that, I always question my concerns regarding him...because I don't like him, it's easy to see him as wrong or bad or whatever, you know what I mean?
But something he has done twice concerns me. The first instance took place about half-way through the semester, and the other took place last week.
First instance: we were in post conference in a doctor's conference room. There was a computer there, and I don't know if it was on, or if someone from our group turned it on. Either way, when I walked in, and while waiting for our instructor to come, this guy proceeded to give the rest of us a slide show of his patient that week's serious tib/fib fx. The pt's name and number was on her xrays, and the xrays, in our system, are not kept at the same place as the chart...in other words, he went into a different department's records, put in his pt's name or MRUN number, and pulled up the info. There was no purpose to this demonstration; he is not an instructor, and to me, showing people who were not involved in her care was a violation of her privacy. But was it? My study group and I talked about it, and while we felt it was wrong, we weren't sure if it was a violation...but I know that if it were my sister, I'd not want a bunch of students without an instructor oogling her xrays just because.
The second, and perhaps more concerning, issue, took place last week. His patient was in a serious, serious accident. Broken bones all over. Lots of bruising and pain, and the patient was a difficult one because he was hurting in the extreme. My colleague came in with a photo taken from the 'net of the accident scene...showed everyone while we were scrubbing up and getting ready to go on the floor; made a point to show where the man's motorcycle ended up under the semi. No learning there, and no reason to show it to fellow students other than the 'ugh' factor. Bear in mind we live and work in a huge city, and that horrific accidents happen with sad frequency.
What bothered me about that instance is that the only way my colleague could've gotten the photo is by researching the accident on the 'net. Which means running a search for either the pt's name (which we take home to prepare for clinical worksheets; but we are only supposed to take initials...), or the accident itself, or whatever. Which means he used the patient's name in a manner that had nothing to do with creating a care plan, or using it to determine anything that had anything to do with patient care. At least, not as far as I can see. Again, to me, this is a violation of HIPAA, and it worries me.
My study group and I talked it over, and didn't come to a conclusion other than this guy is creepy. But I'm still pretty bothered by his actions...and wanted to run it past you all to see if that's a HIPAA violation, or if I'm simply letting personal opinion color my judgment. No matter what the issue, I just can't see myself running an internet search for a particular patient's information, let alone printing off a photo of the accident to show colleagues.
So, please be honest. Were these violations, or am I being judgmental because I don't like him? I am aware that opinions are often colored because of personal dislike, so be honest on that accord, too.
