Is looking at your own health info a HIPPA violation?

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Apr 22, 2009

Dont do it you will be fired. You can apply like everybody else for all your medical information. I know it is crazy not to look up your own labs or results but if they do catch you, they will deal with it harshly.

llg, PhD, RN · Apr 22, 2009

I agree with the general consensus. Regardless of how a court of law may or may not interpret the HIPAA regulations ... facilities have been generally given the rate to control THEIR information about the work that they do and will usually not allow patients to see their own charts without proper approval and procedure.

The information may be about the patient, but that doesn't mean that it automatically belongs to the patient. Those are 2 different things.

One reason that facilities have wanted to maintain ownership and control of the charts is the chart may contain information that is about other people as well as the primary patient. For example, a family member may give the health care team some information that they do not want the patient to know. That information will be placed in the patient's chart -- but it is not even about the patient directly. There may be other information that is harmful to the patient -- particularly a patient who is at some psychological risk. Facilities have a legitmate right to control how and when such information is shared with the patient.

Finally, charts are a record of how the facility conducted its business -- and since businesses generally create, manage, and store their own business records, they are usually considered to be the "owner" of those records.

So ... facilities establish a policy and procedure that covers how and when a person can see "their" medical records so that the patient's right to see their own health information can be appropriately met while balancing the patient's rights with the OTHER rights and concerns that must be taken into consideration.