HIPAA violation

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I'm in; or was in an LPN program in NY. During clinical, I looked at my mom's chart on the computer (she is a patient at the hospital I was having clinical) with her permission. I was dismissed from the program and the hospital security is currently deciding how to pursue this. Will I ever be able to practice nursing or anything in the medical field again? Stupid mistake, I knew better but my concerns for my mother got the best of me. Not that it matters at all but she is battling cancer. What's going to happen to me? To my future?

I do understand your concern about your mother, but any information on anybody away from what your instructor told you to do is bad....if you had a concern you should of asked someone. I really hope the best for you....being dismissed from a nursing program means you won't be in good standing if you apply somewhere else. Good luck to you!

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Thanks for all the replies. I was in a BOCES program of 30 students if that helps at all.. Apparently the hospital had no idea of the situation, is going no further, instructor said they will not allow me to do clinicals on site at that hospital, hospital said they had never agreed to that. Bottom line, this is being fought.

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And it's over. Instructor made it her dying wish to make the hospital agree on not allow me on the facility as a student. I was so close to getting put back in the program to finish up so I could take my boards. She made it her goal to make sure I did not succeed. The instructor used to really like mevery, then things changed (months before this..). I'm trying so hard to stay positive and hope there is something better out there for me. I should have never picked this program when I heard rumors about the instructor. Unfortunately they were all true. I'll never give up my dreams and to those that say I don't have a chance to be a nurse, I have two words for you; watch me. :nurse:

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

I'm sorry you've been kicked out, but you do need to own that you did what you did, not your instructor. A staff member would have been fired for the same thing, welcome to the real world of being a nurse!

And it's over. Instructor made it her dying wish to make the hospital agree on not allow me on the facility as a student. I was so close to getting put back in the program to finish up so I could take my boards. She made it her goal to make sure I did not succeed. The instructor used to really like mevery, then things changed (months before this..). I'm trying so hard to stay positive and hope there is something better out there for me. I should have never picked this program when I heard rumors about the instructor. Unfortunately they were all true. I'll never give up my dreams and to those that say I don't have a chance to be a nurse, I have two words for you; watch me. :nurse:
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You are right, I do know what I did was wrong and I had to learn the hard way. Hospital did say it would have been a level 3 HIPAA violation for an employee. That being the worst level I was shocked to hear that being it was my mom, I did not disclose any info to anyone, and she didn't feel her privacy was violated. Just for educational purposes I'm curious about how it would be considered a level 3?

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
You are right, I do know what I did was wrong and I had to learn the hard way. Hospital did say it would have been a level 3 HIPAA violation for an employee. That being the worst level I was shocked to hear that being it was my mom, I did not disclose any info to anyone, and she didn't feel her privacy was violated. Just for educational purposes I'm curious about how it would be considered a level 3?

Level 3 is "The HIPAA violation was due to willful neglect but the violation was corrected within the required time period.

$10,000-$50,000 for each violation, up to a maximum of $1.5 million for identical provisions during a calendar year"

You didn't click on your mothers records by accident, you willfully (and wrongfully) used the courtesy medical records access given to you as a student to access protected health information of someone you did not have a professional relationship. Corrective action was taken so it stops at level 3.

Category 1 would be you clicked on the wrong record and closed it immediately upon realizing you opened the wrong file.

The fact that you intentionally accessed a record without formal permission made it level 3. Since it was your relative it who wouldn't sign a complaint against you and the facility took corrective action including with the your school it does not need to escalate

What are the Penalties for HIPAA Violations? - HIPAA Journal

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Well unfortunately the program lacked a lot of basics, that was not my fault. The fact that a previous instructor allowed us to look at every single pt chat r/t admission can make things a bit confusing... Pointing blame does me no good, but you stating "pulling crap like that" is a bit harsh when you don't know the problems with the program I was in. With that said, yes I know what I did was indeed wrong and I am deeply remorseful and kicking myself for such a stupid mistake that I could have avoided.

I'm going to be blunt for a minute. Regardless of the problems or issues with the program, you were aware of the basic rules of HIPAA. From your comments, I see that you are attempting to take some blame, saying you know it was wrong, while at the same time blaming the program and instructors. You are correct that it was wrong. I hope things turn out in your favor, but you have to own up to your mistakes without trying to delegate the blame to others. Keep pushing along.

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Level 3 is "The HIPAA violation was due to willful neglect but the violation was corrected within the required time period.

Category 1 would be you clicked on the wrong record and closed it immediately upon realizing you opened the wrong file.

Out of curiosity, how common is it to commit a category 1 HIPAA violation? It sounds like a very easy mistake to make, selecting a wrong file, am I wrong?

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
Out of curiosity, how common is it to commit a category 1 HIPAA violation? It sounds like a very easy mistake to make, selecting a wrong file, am I wrong?

Very easy. Especially if you are in a rush.

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You are right, I do know what I did was wrong and I had to learn the hard way. Hospital did say it would have been a level 3 HIPAA violation for an employee. That being the worst level I was shocked to hear that being it was my mom, I did not disclose any info to anyone, and she didn't feel her privacy was violated. Just for educational purposes I'm curious about how it would be considered a level 3?

You "disclosed" the information to yourself (information you were not authorized to have), and the point isn't whether your mother felt her privacy was violated or not; the point was that you violated the hospital's policies about authorization to access information.

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