HIPAA and shadowinf

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  1. HIPAA violation or nah?

    • 2
      Violation
    • 2
      Not a violation

4 members have participated

Hey nurse friends! Happy nurses week!

I work in a carduovascular surgical step down unit and have a job shadow scheduled in the ICU to determine if it's the right move for me to make right now (im coming up on 2 years and want to be sure I dont need to simmer and grow on my unit a bit more first).

Anyway, the ICU is within the hospital at which I currently work. I obviously want to make the most out of my shadowing experience. Is it a HIPAA violation for me to look up the patient assignment of the nurse I am shadowing? I would love to get there a smidge early and look up the patients like I would if it was my own assignment. I won't technically be responsible for providing care to the patient but it seems like it should qualify under that orientee/student bracket. Thoughts?

Thanks!

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Woops sorry for the typo in the title...

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Specializes in CMSRN.

I would think this would be a violation. Are you on the clock? Any time that someone has shadowed they are coming on their own time. I would also ask the manager of the unit. It has always been my understanding that shadowing does not include any patient care and is only to observe.

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.

I am an informatacist and my recommendation is that you do not. You will be flagged for a HIPAA violation because the patient is not assigned to you. Perhaps the person you're shadowing can open the chart and let you look at it instead.

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This is what I was worried about. Thank you!

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