I recently had to visit the ER at my clinical site because I fainted during a procedure and hit my head (hard). As a precaution, the M.D.s ordered an EKG done. The next day my classroom instructor asked me about how I was feeling privately outside our classroom (she knows because she coordinates all the clinical rotations and clinical instructors report to her). A student who overheard us said loudly in the hallway "Oh, yeah, I saw your EKG." She was not a party to the conversation and was listening in. She is an employee at the clinical site but was not part of the group of people caring for me (more on my extreme embarassment later).
After thinking it over, I called the Pt. Advocate Dept. at the hospital. I don't want her fired but I DEFINITELY don't want that happening again. While the fainting was no great secret (kind of funny, actually), I felt that someone announcing what test I had done (and even that she saw it) was out of line.
I would have said something on the spot to her but I was about to take a test and blowing a gasket over it right then would have really been detrimental to my grade (as if my concussion was any help!)
Regardless of whether anyone thinks that an EKG is insignificant, it is not for anyone but the OP to disclose that it was done or its results to anyone outside of the health care team.
Ordinarily, I would suggest speaking directly to the involved party first, before going to a supervisor. But the setting prevented the OP from doing that in the usual manner. By that, I mean that the OP was a patient and the fellow student was an employee of the hospital where the OP was treated. When the OP learned that the student had inappropriately disclosed her private health information, had she been in the hospital setting, it would have been appropriate to seek the student/employee out, and let her know that, as a patient, she was upset by the disclosure. In that setting, even if the student/employee thought the OP was over-reacting, she probably would have conducted herself in a professional manner and apologized, if for no other reason than to protect her job.
But the OP didn't learn of the disclosure in the hospital setting where she had the benefit of a patient/care-giver relationship. She was at school, where she and the fellow student are peers and not likely to show each other the same courtesy they would in a professional setting. Indeed, the student/employee inserted herself into a private conversation between the OP and an instructor. That would lead me to believe that she would probably not conduct herself professionally if approached about her breach of confidentiality in that setting.
Finally, I appreciate that the OP tried to "downplay" the incident when she contacted the compliance officer by stating that she didn't want the student/employee to be fired. But I believe it is important to realize that it is not up to the patient to set the consequences when reporting a breech. That will be determined by facility policy and the employee's disciplinary history.
I think the whole point is this is someone's PRIVATE medical records, regardless if its one of our fellow nurse classmates that sees it or not. How insignificant or small the test may be; it does not matter, it is the right of the patient to confidentiality. I do not understand anyone who would argue this. I agree with someone else who said it earlier; Learning a lesson now may save them from losing their license. EVERY patient, whether its us or the people we are taking care of deserves privacy. And isnt that the very thing that they are trying to teach us?
i agree with jolie. It is JUST an EKG, but obviously this person was fishing through her medical record without permission. What if there was other sensitive information in it? Now this fellow student would know about it and she had no right to have access to that information.
I absolutely would never want someone I know looking through my file. If I knew someone who worked at my doctor's office, I would probably leave and find a new doctor because I am that protective of my medical privacy. Call me crazy, but I prefer to keep my skeletons in the closet.
Finally, I appreciate that the OP tried to "downplay" the incident when she contacted the compliance officer by stating that she didn't want the student/employee to be fired. But I believe it is important to realize that it is not up to the patient to set the consequences when reporting a breech. That will be determined by facility policy and the employee's disciplinary history.
I think this is the salient point. The OP may think the offending party will just be reprimanded for this because she asked that the person not be fired. However, that request has nothing to do with the laws regarding personal health info, and the offender could possibly be fired from her job and maybe even expelled from nursing school for this infraction.
Is this incident worth all that? I don't think so. I'd like to think I'd have sought the offender out and scolded them about what they did.
i would hazzard a bet, that this situation is out of your hands d/t it was overheard by the instructor....it would seem that miss loud mouth prob is going to be hearing from the school in some way.....and not merry christmas or happy new year////
I think this is the salient point. The OP may think the offending party will just be reprimanded for this because she asked that the person not be fired. However, that request has nothing to do with the laws regarding personal health info, and the offender could possibly be fired from her job and maybe even expelled from nursing school for this infraction.
Is this incident worth all that? I don't think so. I'd like to think I'd have sought the offender out and scolded them about what they did.
But then again, it wasn't my PHI.
I did consider talking to her (as I mentioned), but half the time she just rolls her eyes at me when I say anything to her and so it was not worth the aggravation. If she realized that she slipped up, why not say something to ME?
I don't think she is going to get expelled from school, BTW. Outside employment does not have an impact on your enrollment status at my school.
I'm not a b!#$% and don't hold a grudge, but if she had access to this, then I have to assume she had access to my whole file with recent information that is even MORE PRIVATE.
I did consider talking to her (as I mentioned), but half the time she just rolls her eyes at me when I say anything to her and so it was not worth the aggravation. If she realized that she slipped up, why not say something to ME?
I don't think she is going to get expelled from school, BTW. Outside employment does not have an impact on your enrollment status at my school.
I'm not a b!#$% and don't hold a grudge, but if she had access to this, then I have to assume she had access to my whole file with recent information that is even MORE PRIVATE.
this isnt a case of her outside employment having an effect on her schooling....this happened in school, in front of an instructor.......
It concerns me that some people think the OP is making too big a deal out of this. Her privacy was invaded, plain and simple. It is irrelevant what the test was, the student/employee had no reason to be looking at her file. It was not just bad judgment on the part of the student, it was a violation of LAW. It should not be tolerated by the hospital or the school. She did the right thing be reporting it.
Not that this really has anything to do with how you handled your situation as I believe you did what you felt was right. HIPPA violations are very serious events.
Is this person a unit secretary in the Emergency room in which she might only has put your results away in your chart. I am simply trying to wrap my brain around this whole thing.
I think her response of " oh yeah I saw your EKG" was very inappropriate,but as she was listening to your conversation abate not a part of the conversation. She was interjecting what you had already mentioned and without her giving details of the results I am not sure if in fact it is a HIPPA violation.
i understand your concern, however, i would have spoken to her directly, or perhaps had the Professor speak to her, calling her job will get her fired no doubt in my mind about that, and this is something that could follow her. On the application for licensing there is a question worded something like this :Have you ever been dismiss or asked to resign for misconduct or maltreatment of a client" I don't know how far the state BON goes if they check former jobs etc. but this could be a problem for her/him
I did consider talking to her (as I mentioned), but half the time she just rolls her eyes at me when I say anything to her and so it was not worth the aggravation. If she realized that she slipped up, why not say something to ME?
Ah, interesting; you don't like this person in the first place.....
I don't understand why everyone is upset she might lose her job. She violated HIPPA did she not? Doesn't that kind of violation warrant being fired? A HIPPA violoation is a HIPPA violation regardless of whether she looked at something that doesnt seem like a big deal or looked through more sensative tests.
At the hospital I worked at, if you had a persons record # you could look up anything that they had done in that hospital whether it was done in your department or another one.
If this classmate used her job to look through the medical files of a classmate (one that she was not involved w/ treating in any way), then why shouldn't she be fired?
Jolie, BSN
6,375 Posts
Regardless of whether anyone thinks that an EKG is insignificant, it is not for anyone but the OP to disclose that it was done or its results to anyone outside of the health care team.
Ordinarily, I would suggest speaking directly to the involved party first, before going to a supervisor. But the setting prevented the OP from doing that in the usual manner. By that, I mean that the OP was a patient and the fellow student was an employee of the hospital where the OP was treated. When the OP learned that the student had inappropriately disclosed her private health information, had she been in the hospital setting, it would have been appropriate to seek the student/employee out, and let her know that, as a patient, she was upset by the disclosure. In that setting, even if the student/employee thought the OP was over-reacting, she probably would have conducted herself in a professional manner and apologized, if for no other reason than to protect her job.
But the OP didn't learn of the disclosure in the hospital setting where she had the benefit of a patient/care-giver relationship. She was at school, where she and the fellow student are peers and not likely to show each other the same courtesy they would in a professional setting. Indeed, the student/employee inserted herself into a private conversation between the OP and an instructor. That would lead me to believe that she would probably not conduct herself professionally if approached about her breach of confidentiality in that setting.
Finally, I appreciate that the OP tried to "downplay" the incident when she contacted the compliance officer by stating that she didn't want the student/employee to be fired. But I believe it is important to realize that it is not up to the patient to set the consequences when reporting a breech. That will be determined by facility policy and the employee's disciplinary history.