HIPAA.... violation or not....

I<3Nursing · Nov 30, 2011

When I was in school it was understood that we could talk about clinic experiences without concern for HIPAA. Nothing left the room but while in class it was an open discussion just as in real life nursing when nurses ask for help on a patient and have to share input. If you truly want back into the program I was seek legal counsel that specializes in such violations.

brendasue · Nov 30, 2011

I have an appeal already set up but cannot find any good reference material with me being a student regarding HIPAA.

Wave Watcher · Nov 30, 2011

HIPPA is the same for nursing students just as it is for nurses.....for that matter anyone who works in the medical field. The rules don't change.

In nursing school we were never allowed to mention names, room numbers...anything that someone could identify who the patient might be.

brendasue · Nov 30, 2011

I never accessed medical records for this information and the pt was never assigned to me. I found out thru other nurses talking about the name and when I was in class I never related it back to it being a pt or in the hospital setting. The student just assumed that is how I knew.

Wave Watcher · Nov 30, 2011

Well she assumed right. You still can not repeat what you heard other nurses talking about. HIPPA is not just about medical records....it's about information....no matter how you get it.

I would go back to your school and see what their policy states or refer to a lawyer.

NellieOlsen · Nov 30, 2011

Seems like overkill to me for them to drop you from the program. Heck, baby names are posted on the internet as birth announcements so it's hardly classified information. If that's truly all that was said, I don't see how that could be a HIPAA violation. Good luck with the appeal. :)

Wave Watcher · Nov 30, 2011

I thought even with birth announcements the parents had to sign or verbal state that it was okay to release the information of the child's birth?

Maybe not? I know I had to sign a form agreeing to the announcement.

Either way I meant to say I do wish you the best with your situation.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Nov 30, 2011

Giving the middle name away was probably giving away an identifying marker. While I think the result for this particular case seems way extreme. You really have to be careful with stuff like this. That said we were always taught what was said in class was confidential and conducive to our learning. I mean in post conference my classmates knew I was on tele for example, and I had to present my case study. Patient with initials TK 80 year old male, blah blah blah. But we were told this was safe. I think you should have recieved a warning. You didn't give last name, DOB, and so on but births in a small town with minimal information can be easy to identify.

I hope things have a way of working out.

When you appear you need to be accountable and own up to what you did but express how sorry you are and your lack of judgement and how at the time you didn't think that was to much information but now looking at it you can see how it was. I think that will be your best chance.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Nov 30, 2011

Wow a tough one......I am so sorry you are going through this....but what I am going to say will not make you Happy.

Technically over hearing patient information and repeating it in a non clinical setting is not appropriate. If you were just gossiping and you said "hey did you hear the baby's name is blah, blah" Yes it's a violation....what you hear in the hospital should stay in the hospital. I think it's extreme to expell you......did you sign a confidentiality agreement and go through HIPAA training? Medical information is on a need to know basis and not repeating it is just as important.....you were even talking about a patient you didn't care for and repeated it in a non clinical setting with any relation to what you were learning.

So, yes it's a big deal the link is an excellent student presentation about HIPAA. A key factor on your appeal is whether or not they taught you about HIPAA and did you sign anything. I'd contact a lawyer as they can be the only ones to give you advice.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=nursing%20students%20and%20hipaa&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.utexas.edu%2Fnursing%2Fdocs%2Fhipaa.ppt&ei=R8HVTqWcC6bm0QHqxe37AQ&usg=AFQjCNF30cAY23FVSsLm5fbc9ujVmk21fA&sig2=uHiiUrSHxaZ4Au1h9WxOEg

MunoRN, RN · Nov 30, 2011

Depending on where you live, it's not a HIPAA violation but then again most privacy issues that schools and hospitals will reprimand you for are not HIPAA violations but rather their own, often much stricter privacy rules.

In most jurisdictions, live births and newborn names are a matter of public record, so you weren't divulging "protected" information but rather un-protected information, making this a non-violation in terms of HIPAA.

Even so, it's still "gossipy" which isn't really appropriate in a Nursing class context regardless of how you obtained the information. I agree kicking you out of the program is unjustified and irrational, but you have to remember that "unjustified and irrational" is the basic premise of most Nursing school disciplinary action.

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Nov 30, 2011

Similar to MunoRN, I don't think the issue is whether this statement is strictly addressed by HIPAA. We sometimes "cry HIPAA" kind of reflexively. There are plenty of inappropriate but "legal" statements that a nurse could make. They aren't prohibited by HIPAA, but they still reflect poor judgment.

With that said, everyone has used poor judgment at one time or another. Nursing school rules can be rigid, but how was your relationship with your classmate before this? I try to avoid confrontation in general, but I can't imagine being so offended by this one statement that I'd go through a formal complaint process against you. Were there previous events that led up to this?