Hippa violation

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I was terminated by my employer for a hippa violation on grounds of co workers saying I looked up information and was talking about it. What do you think will happen.....fine, lose license, jail time? Will this affect future employment opportunities?Should I tell future employers about this?

Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

If you have NSO you have specific coverage for exactly this kind of accusation. I believe Marsh/ProLiability also offers this coverage

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I dont have nso but I am wanting to. I was going to get it the other day but it asked a question regarding a claim or if a claim could be made so i think I will have to wait until I know the outcome of this violation. I am definitely getting it though.

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Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.
No the only thing I did was look at the tracking board but did not click on the pt but since more than one person said i said something they have to go with it. One of the girls I don't get along with.

Was the tracking board for your dept or another unit? Some staff fron my hospital a few yrs ago were written up for looking at the boards of other floors (stated they were just checking the census, ie looking to see if there was a chance to be floated or get a float since staff is interchangeable), but never actually looked in any of the pts' charts.

If it was your own unit & IT can back up your assertion that you did not access the record, then I feel you should fight any allegation of HIPAA violation.

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It was for other floors. The ones who had access would look at it to see if we had potential admits coming to our floor

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Without knowing more information it's hard to say what will happen. If you didn't look up any information then you didn't violate HIPAA. The state where I'm from is a right to work state. The employer can fire you without a reason and you have nothing to fall back on (except unemployment if you qualify). As for disclosing it to another employer if you didn't violate HIPAA then there's nothing to disclose and no reason to bring it up. One thing that I can say is when an employer accesses your prior work history, many companies will only verify what your position was and what the dates of employment were. Many will not answer questions about your character or the reason you are no longer with them (by your choice or theirs) because of the potential legalities it poses for them (such as you suing them). One of my previous employer's HR department made a point on emphasizing this during our orientation.

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Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.
It was for other floors. The ones who had access would look at it to see if we had potential admits coming to our floor

Yeah, that's a no-no where I work. You might not mean to be looking for specific pt info, but our boards show pt name, dob, admitting dx, record number. So you might just be looking to see if there are potential admits, but accidentally see that your neighbor Joe Schmoe is at your facility with chest pain or so & so from HS is there with fractures post-MVA; none of it is your business.

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Yeah I know that now but when I started there others were doing the same thing so I didnt think anything about but I sure know now.

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Specializes in hospice.
Yeah I know that now but when I started there others were doing the same thing so I didnt think anything about but I sure know now.

This is the second recent thread I've seen with lots of "well everyone else was doing it."

Are we 10 years old around here?

Nurses and even CNAs are educated about HIPAA and our scopes of practice. These are things you should know, regardless of what anyone else is doing. No one who is certified or licensed has any excuse for violating HIPAA or their scope.

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Sounds like it's time to demand an audit of your computer activity to clear your name.

Red, I think that if she got fired they probably did this. An employer usually will not act in that way unless there's solid evidence. That's my guess. :)

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Well I did not think it was a problem unless I clicked on the pt and looked at their information which I did not do.

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Yes they did and audit and all they saw was I clicked on the tracking board. They could not find anywhere where I clicked on the pt and looked at their information.

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Yes they did and audit and all they saw was I clicked on the tracking board. They could not find anywhere where I clicked on the pt and looked at their information.

Wow, I would fight this then.

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