Is is a HIPAA violation to tell a patient you have a mutual friend or you know someone that they know. Like if you're just having small talk and you end up being from the same town and know a bunch of the same people, even family?
JKL33 6,592 Posts Apr 21 What protected health information is being shared in the scenario you describe?
Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN 873 Posts Specializes in Critical Care, Capacity/Bed Management. Has 8 years experience. Apr 21 No, sometimes working in a small community hospital you will inevitably care for someone who is in your sphere of friendship/family. Discussion of the connection with the patient is not a HIPAA violation. Sharing protected health information about the patient to others would be a violation.
CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN 915 Posts Specializes in Community health. Has 5 years experience. Apr 30 Instead of getting online to ask whether a bunch of random things are or are not HIPAA violations, I encourage nurses to familiarize themselves with what is actually contained in the law. Here's a summary, there's also an FAQ. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/privacysummary.pdf
