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Discussion

HIPAA violation?

It was more than two weeks ago that I was working a night shift and had an obese English speaking pt with a non-English speaking husband arrive in L&D triage from the ED saying that her water had broken and she was 36 weeks pregnant.

After a lengthy search of her abdomen with EFM and hand held doppler I found no fetal heart tones. Mom seemed unconcerned and I just rolled with it and told her I would call one of the residents with the ultrasound to do a more thorough exam.

Meanwhile my charge RN paged me to tell me that she had had the same pt a month before with the same complaint who ended up having a negative HCG at that time.

She got a quick ride back to the ED for psych eval.

So this week my NM and administrator arrived on the unit with a hospital police officer asking for information about the patient so that she could be tracked down. We figured out her name and located her in video when she entered the ED with her husband and two sisters in law.

The hope is that we can find a way to warn other area hospitals about this woman because she fits the profile of an abductor.

I am trying to figure out if we can pass the information that she was even here without violating HIPAA. Would it work to say that she is a person of interest to be watched for in areas where a newborn could be abducted. (Not that it is my call.)

Any thoughts or history with a similar situation?

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We have had the same thing and I really don't know if it is a HIPAA violation or not, but we get mug shots if they have a record, phone calls from security in other facilities with names and descriptions to be on the lookout. Never really came to me to think about HIPAA to be honest, but it does happen. Would be interesting to find out though.

From another threat in relation to HIPAA http://www.hhs.gov/hipaafaq/permitted/law/505.html

One thing the OP notes though is that its a hospital police officer. This may or may not make a difference as well. Giving police information looks ok. Probably cant get in to specifics as far as warning the other hospitals but probably can advise them generally what someone is doing.

Rj

Excellent info. Thanks!!!

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