Is being friends with a patient a HIPAA violation

[mcrawford]

I hope you all would not be upset that I created an account but I didnt know where else to get the information that I need (because you all are nurses, I'm assuming you all know this). I am not a nurse but I have a question about the HIPAA law and I dont fully understand it. I found out about it when I tried to friend my nurse practitioner (we were friends on facebook for about 2 hours), She told me about it that since shes my "nurse" she could not communicate with me outside of the hospital because of this law and I thought that it only applied to direct nurses that you would see all the time and not one you had on their shift one time?

I thought HIPAA was insurance?? I know that sounds really dumb but really what I wanted to know is does HIPAA restrict any nurse from communicating with a patient out side of the hospital even if they only saw you one time for a few hours?

I ask that because I actually became friends with the nurse that helped deliver my baby for about 4 months (and I even went to her babys funeral too) and we were talking and texting each other until she told me that she didnt realize it but she had made a "professional mistake" when she gave me her number and that she was sorry but we could not communicate anymore because she didnt realize that she wasnt supposed to talk to me outside of the hospital. i saw her one time for a few hours and now it seems HIPAA completely forbids us from continuing our friendship and it hurts a little. I could tell by the text that she didnt wanna tell me that and it was quite hard for her too.

I don't understand how HIPAA can tell people what and who they can talk to... it is disturbing to me as long as the nurse doesnt discuss your personal information, why is it a problem? we never discussed what happened at the hospital and we were friends, not a patient/nurse relationship. I hope Im not overwhelming you with my message, i was just wanting clear understanding of the hipaa law because even though I have read it, I still dont understand it. Oh and by the way , I am getting ready to do medical billing so i will be in the medical field so my account isnt completely invain!

Last edit by NRSKarenRN on 11:02 am

[NurseMellyFay]

In Nursing school in Canada we have very strict rules in regards to therapeutic relationship. We are not allowed to treat a patient that is a family member or friend. We are not allowed to give our details out or personally contact or affiliate with the client until 6 months to a year after therapeutic relation has ended. Doing so would go against the established rules and a nurse if discovered to do so would lose his or her license. It is quite strict! This is to protect the patient and the client. If one even senses that there is a threat to the therapeutic relationship they must transfer care to someone else and discontinue with that client so to maintain the therapeutic relationship. HIPPAA prevents therapists from engaging in non therapeutic relationships for 2 years post therapy, though it is not monitered as strictly. Nurses really have to be careful.

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

On 9/23/2012 at 9:23 PM, Tinabeanrn said:

If I was your nurse, I cant turn around and tell my family your name and your health information. If I did that could be punishable by law and I could lose my job and pay a huge fine.

Not so. Your employer would be the one for OCR (Office of Civil Rights, whence comes HIPAA) to go after pay any fines they levy after investigating a complaint. The law applies to how entities that provide or pay for health care, or their business associates,  protect personal or private health information, PHI.  As your employer, they are responsible for your conduct. What they do c your employment is up to them. But the feds will not go after you individually.