HIPAA and the Undocumented

[nurseactivist]

A medical office keeps a patient waiting two hours in order to deport her.

Advocates protest Latina immigrant's arrest at Texas doctor's office - LA Times

[Yodi23]

I have a question about possible HIPAA violation. If I am talking to someone and mention "I met Mrs. X today when she brought her husband to the ER and she was talking about how much she really likes you and gave you several complements." and then that person texts Mrs.X and ask "Hey, (my name) told me that Mr. X was in the ER. How is he doing?" - is that a HIPAA violation because I mentioned his name but gave no medical information about him or why he was in the ER?

[Mulan]

Illegal immigrant pleads guilty in 'total identity theft' case in 18-month prison deal | Fox News

"WICHITA, Kan. – An illegal immigrant accused of assuming the persona of a Texas teacher pleaded guilty Monday in a case that put a face on the growing crime of "total identity theft" in the United States."

"Benita Cardona-Gonzalez, a Mexican national living in Topeka, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of possessing fraudulent identification documents in a deal with prosecutors that calls for an 18-month prison term."

"The 32-year-old was accused of completely assuming the persona of Houston elementary school teacher Candida Gutierrez, who first went public in a story by The Associated Press. Gutierrez recounted how the thief not only opened bank and credit accounts, but assumed her entire persona — using it to get a job, a driver's license, a mortgage, food stamps and even medical care for the birth of two children. All the while, the crook claimed the real Gutierrez was the one who had stolen her identity."

"Gutierrez first learned her identity had been hijacked when she was turned down for a mortgage nearly 12 years ago. Both women claimed they were identity theft victims and sought new Social Security numbers. The Social Security Administration turned down the request from Gutierrez, instead issuing a new number to the woman impersonating her. In another twist, Gutierrez was forced to file her federal income tax forms using a special identification number usually reserved for illegal immigrants."

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

Yes violation. You can't mention anything about who you saw during the course if care given to a patient. "Brought her husband into er" kind of falls under that, don't you think?!

I have a question about possible HIPAA violation. If I am talking to someone and mention "I met Mrs. X today when she brought her husband to the ER and she was talking about how much she really likes you and gave you several complements." and then that person texts Mrs.X and ask "Hey, (my name) told me that Mr. X was in the ER. How is he doing?" - is that a HIPAA violation because I mentioned his name but gave no medical information about him or why he was in the ER?

[elkpark]

I have a question about possible HIPAA violation. If I am talking to someone and mention "I met Mrs. X today when she brought her husband to the ER and she was talking about how much she really likes you and gave you several complements." and then that person texts Mrs.X and ask "Hey, (my name) told me that Mr. X was in the ER. How is he doing?" - is that a HIPAA violation because I mentioned his name but gave no medical information about him or why he was in the ER?

Yes, just disclosing he was in the ED is enough to be a violation. Why on earth couldn't you just say "I ran into Mrs. X the other day and she was talking about how much she really likes you ..." without dragging Mr. X and any medical issues he might or might not have into it?