Is there a legal way to do this...

[BrnEyedGirl]

Hope there is a HIPAA expert out there!

Here is the scenario,..very public, rape, murder of a 4 yr old in your town. The police have DNA that identifies the subject, his name and photo is on every TV station in town. He shows up in your ER, using a different name, but his tattoos ID him without a doubt. He is checked in as a pt. Is there any legal way to call the police?

This isn't homework. The story has been changed but the circumstances are similar to something that happened to a coworker recently. Is there a legal way to turn this creep in?

[Sam J.]

Yes Bucky,..that is exactly what was happening!! He was a known felon, they knew who he was, they just couldn't catch up with him!

If so, doesn't make me feel warm and cozy about the ability of that police department- let's not forget, OP mentioned it is a small town.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

So you've become judge, and jury. By virtue of what, a nursing education?

Other than that, you claim that you would defy your employer, and call the police. Several have said the same. I wonder if anyone can post a poll in here to ask- would you call the police to report a suspected patient, despite your employer having a policy that that would end your employment?

To narrow things down, we can assume that your reporting is based on credible, current information that the patient in question is most likely the suspect in question, and that you have no question in your mind that this patient has probably committed the heinous crime he's suspected of (he hasn't been charged, because he hasn't been arrested), and that you feel compelled to risk your job (and future employment) by reporting this patient to the police. In other words: You are not taking this reporting lightly.

I'm curious. (But in no way minimizing the strong feelings some people feel about this suspect patient, BTW). This poll would serve to give the audience some further information to consider. I suspect the results would be about 50/50.

Not a judge, not a jury...this has nothing to do with determining guilt.

I am saying if I KNEW a child killer was in my hospital, yes.. my humanity ethics would trump my personal need for employment.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

The hospital is not a sanctuary in which a criminal can find asylum. Notifying the authorities is not a conviction; he would be given due process--an attorney, a formal indictment, a trial with a judge and jury of his peers.

I like GrnTea's idea about calling anonymously. Hospital admin may suspect given that you asked what you could do, but there's no way to definitively prove that it was you. You are a citizen who saw the news report and who also saw someone with the ink that the police made public. You just happened to see it in a hospital. Anybody could have seen them at any time.

Personally I wouldn't be able to sleep at night, if I had a tip on someone that raped a little girl barely more than a baby and did nothing. I honestly don't think I could ever forgive myself, HIPAA vio or not.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Alerting law enforcement that you know the whereabouts of someone whose face has been plastered all over the media is not acting as judge/jury ... it is just choosing to act in accordance with the public safety structure.

Guilt/innocence will be sorted out by the system later.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

being legal doeth not make it ethical, and illegal doeth not make it unethical..............

[Sam J.]

Not a judge, not a jury...this has nothing to do with determining guilt.

I am saying if I KNEW a child killer was in my hospital, yes.. my humanity ethics would trump my personal need for employment.

'Knowing' a man is a child killer is not your own personal deteremination of guilt, outside of the judge and jury?

[Sam J.]

Alerting law enforcement that you know the whereabouts of someone whose face has been plastered all over the media is not acting as judge/jury ... it is just choosing to act in accordance with the public safety structure.

Guilt/innocence will be sorted out by the system later.

Exactly. The issue is- do you buck your employer's policy, and risk your job?

Since this is such a hot button issue- a suggestion is to be aware of your employer's policies, about anything, then, if you don't agree with those policies, you can find a way to circumvent them, without first 'letting the cat out of the bag'.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

'Knowing' a man is a child killer is not your own personal deteremination of guilt, outside of the judge and jury?

Believing that this was the guy on the news, while yes a personal determination, doesn't actually get the guy convicted and incarcerated. That is still left to the actual judge and jury.

[toomuchbaloney]

The man's photo and identifying marks are being broadcast on the TV and in the print media.

There is a police search for a specific man wanted for violent crimes against children.

I believe the man is in my ED under an assumed name seeking care for something.

I notify the police via my personal phone on a break.

Let my employer prove that I was the one who called and that I violated the man's rights and privacy.

I am not conversant with all of the legal nuances of this matter, but I know right from wrong and I will fall on the side of right whenever possible. It would be wrong, in my view, to remain silent in this instance as stated.

[TheGooch]

Just so you all understand,...this man was arrested, just outside of the hospital. I have no idea how or why,..I was just trying to find a legal way to do what any of us would agree needed to be done. Our security guards also mentioned the whole problem of what if he was arrested because someone at the hospital illegally turned him in,..he is in jail now,...I was just curious to find out if there would have been a legal way to handle this situation.

Good.

[TheGooch]

If this is the case you'd only be credible if you also stated that you aren't concerned about your own Constitutional rights. Can't have it both ways.

We're not talking about me.

[T-Bird78]

Call anonymously and tell them you're sitting in the ER of whatever hospital--you could be a pt or family member for all they know--and say you saw a guy who looks like the monster they're looking for. No health information was given because you didn't say he was being treated, just that he was in the ER.