HIPAA question

I have been mentally torturing myself about it sense.

You're no good to anyone if you torture yourself over it, a complete waste of energy .....breathe and just learn from it.

I recently had a phone conversation with s DON of a pediatric facility. I was calling to inquire about open positions. I explained that I have previously card for patients who have been discharged from that facility and the families had spoken highly of their experience. He all but demanded I drop names. He also demanded I drop names of other nurses or directors I know that work there currently. He figured out after giving him my work history who our mutual patient was and spoke her name. I feel like I offended hippa simply by acknowledging I knew who she was. Is that true? Why would this DON entrap me like that? I can't believe I didn't just explain it too close to a hippa violation and I didn't wish to engage. Now the man won't return my calls. ***.

Would telling a patient's family member out side of the work place that you took care of their relative a Hipaa violation in front of one of my family members? Is it a violation to describe something you saw physically or ask about something? Do I need to report myself? I'm so worried!

Listen to that worried little voice. It's a violation to tell the patient's family members, too, unless you had explicit permission from the patient to do so, and even then, I'd never do it outside a work setting because you never know who's listening; including your relative in the conversation is completely uncalled-for. Both actions are very ill-advised and could leave you liable for disclosing PHI to unauthorized persons. I wouldn't go so far as to report myself for it, but I would consider apologizing to the family (both) for having done it, begging forgiveness, and swearing never to do such a thing again. Although at this point the cat is out of the bag, and those cats can run fast.

What on earth got into you? (Although, when I asked my tantruming 13-year-old that once, she swept her hand across her chest in anger and frustration and said, "It's what came out of me.")

Would telling a patient's family member out side of the work place that you took care of their relative a Hipaa violation in front of one of my family members? Is it a violation to describe something you saw physically or ask about something? Do I need to report myself? I'm so worried!

It's a violation with or without your family present. Who is this relative? Unless your patient was a minor child and you were speaking to a legal guardian, no relative has the right to know that this person was even hospitalized without his/her permission.

What do you mean by "describing something you saw physically"? You told the relative specific things you observed with your patient? No, you can't do that either.