HIPPA Violation?

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

Last night a nurse I work with recognized her patient, who had just had a baby, as a friend of her son's. When she left a message on her son's phone that night she told him that his friend had a baby. Her son's ex-wife listened to the message and threatened to report the nurse for a HIPPA violation. Is this a violation?

Working on a postpartum floor, we always have people calling to ask if such and such is a patient there (mom or baby). Are we allowed to tell them yes or no? I have always said I cannot release that information because I wasn't sure.

What should I really be telling them?

Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.
Thanks for the advice :) After the nurse was threatened she went back into the pt. room and asked the pt. if it was okay if she had told her son about the baby. The pt. said yes, but she got permission only after she had already told her son. Could she still be in trouble if the pt. doesn't care?

Yes, it was a violation. She was lucky the pt gave retroactive consent.

Still, if the ex reports it to administration, she'll still be in trouble. The patient may not care, but the information was still priveleged at the time.

Definetly a HIPPA violation because she got consent after she already opened her trap. What business is it of her's anyway? Obviously the son isn't such good friends because if he was, well wouldn't he already know about the baby's birth? ;)

Thanks for the advice :) After the nurse was threatened she went back into the pt. room and asked the pt. if it was okay if she had told her son about the baby. The pt. said yes, but she got permission only after she had already told her son. Could she still be in trouble if the pt. doesn't care?

I'm not sure that I agree that a substantial HIPPA violation occured here. Certainly a prima facia breach in protocol occured; but, what was actually the damage done to the protected party?

  • the message was overheard by the son's ex-wife??? Why was she monitoring his calls? What exactly is her ax that she is trying to grind? How did this breach harm her?
  • New births are routinely announced in the newspapers and even online. If the mother of the child released information in this manner to the world what harm would she have suffered as a result of a well intentioned albeit nonetheless wrong telephone call???

Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.
I'm not sure that I agree that a substantial HIPPA violation occured here. Certainly a prima facia breach in protocol occured; but, what was actually the damage done to the protected party?

  • the message was overheard by the son's ex-wife??? Why was she monitoring his calls? What exactly is her ax that she is trying to grind? How did this breach harm her?
  • New births are routinely announced in the newspapers and even online. If the mother of the child released information in this manner to the world what harm would she have suffered as a result of a well intentioned albeit nonetheless wrong telephone call???

I understand your point, but don't necessarily agree with it. Undoubtedly, a HIPAA violation occured. On that point, I think we agree.

I don't believe that this breach was harmless, though. When my children were born, I refused to publish any information about their births. To do so is an open invitation to phone and door-to-door solicitations from every related local business, and every community busybody. I also know of a person who desperately wanted to adopt a child who perused the birth announcements in the local paper and then called the parents to attempt to persuade them to give up their babies. (I'm not kidding! This nut-job was a seemingly normal suburban housewife who already had kids!)

Having worked in OB, I know that many parents forgo announcing their babies' births for these very reasons. A HIPAA violation like the OP described would indeed be a violation of their privacy, and possibly the peace and tranquility of their home.

Specializes in Emergency Dept.

She should've asked for permission first.

I have experienced this twice in recent memory. Once when I was a tech in the ER and a good friend of mine's husband was brought in after high speed (70+mph) MVC. I asked him if he wanted me to call Kris (my friend and his wife). He said no, he wanted to call his parents because he thought Kris would freak out. So the chaplain notified his parents (who promptly notified Kris, but they aren't under HIPPA law). I volunteered to make the call because they were my friends, but once he said no, I stepped back and continued my duties as a tech.

The second situation was with a dear friend of my mom's. I happened to be working the day she was admitted to ICU for Pneumonia. At that point in time she was still doing okay though - I knew my mom would want to know that her friend was in the hospital, so I asked if she cared that I tell my mom that she was there. She said that would be great and she would really like the company if my mom would come by. I told my mom that night and she went to visit the next day. It was a great thing too, because shortly after this friend took a very bad turn for the worse and she will never be the same again - suffered severe hypoxia, is blind, etc. I'm just glad they got to see each other and talk before everything went so bad.

I'm not sure that I agree that a substantial HIPPA violation occured here. Certainly a prima facia breach in protocol occured; but, what was actually the damage done to the protected party?

  • the message was overheard by the son's ex-wife??? Why was she monitoring his calls? What exactly is her ax that she is trying to grind? How did this breach harm her?
  • New births are routinely announced in the newspapers and even online. If the mother of the child released information in this manner to the world what harm would she have suffered as a result of a well intentioned albeit nonetheless wrong telephone call???

A HIPAA violation isn't like a malpractice suit -- there doesn't have to have been damage/injury in order for a violation to occur; we're not allowed to disclose PHI without the specific consent (in advance!) from the client. That's the issue, not whether or not the client suffered some damage/injury as a result of the disclosure.

I think a lot of lay people don't realize that we (nurses) aren't supposed to walk around talking about other patients.

I had a father of a new baby ask me while walking down the hallway "hey what is the ladies name in that room?"

I simply said "I'm sorry I can't tell you that." He went on to tell me how he thought it was someone he knew. So I said "if you see her in the hallway then you will know." BTW I have no idea if it was who he thought it was.

But yes that is a violation of HIPPA. IF the nurse gets the ok ahead of time from the patient then it is fine but you shouldn't tell someone THEN get the ok from the patient.

And when it comes to phone calls. We can say yes so and so is patient I will transfer you to her room. But that is it. We don't give out any info unless the person calling has a special code given to them by the patient.

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