Lost job over HIPAA violation

[MInurse19]

I was terminated from my job for a HIPAA violation. Basically I looked in the chat of a patient that a CPR was called overhead for as I worked in ICU and was up for admission so it was likely this patient would come to me. This is something I have seen many others do as well. After the pt did not come to my unit I re opened the chart just to see what the outcome had been (stupid move on my part I know, and I guess in my mind I figured I had already been in the chart once so what did it matter?) Anyways the patient did not survive and it ended up becoming a sentinel event. The hospital of course audited this patients chart and began investigating anyone who accessed the chart (myself included). I knew they were meeting yesterday and was a wreck at work all day. After my shift, I was called to go to HR where they terminated my employment for violation of HIPAA regulations. My previous employer said they would not disclose that information to potential future employers, but that they were required to report it to the State Board. What can I expect to happen? This is my first offense, and I have a spotless license up until now. Will I lose my license over this? Is it even worth it to start looking for jobs right away? I am physically sick over this whole situation, I have not been able to eat in 2 days, and now I cannot stop crying.

Please no criticism, I have been beating myself up over this enough. I know what I did was wrong and stupid and I deserve what happened. I just need to know where I go from here.

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

Wow, I am so sorry this happened. While this absolutely warranted a write-up, I think in firing you they went too far and reporting this to the BON is even more ridiculous.

I agree 100% with the above.

[Whodaewhat]

Hey there, 

 

I’m in a similar situation.. did you get results from the board yet? My situation just happened 2 weeks ago and I’ve been a mess since.. 

[amoLucia]

The OP has NOT been back in over  a year since posting.

[Whodaewhat]

9 hours ago, amoLucia said:

The OP has NOT been back in over  a year since posting.

Oh boy. I hope she is well. 

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

On 2/26/2019 at 11:46 PM, JadedCPN said:

Please help me understand this logic? Why should the hospital be held accountable for allowing a nurse to access a patient's chart?

Because the way the law is written, the institution is responsible for seeing that its training in HIPAA is effective with all its employees.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

I routinely accessed the ER chart of a suspected admit, to set up the room and familiarize myself with the patient.  We were threatened for this activity, but all the nurses did it, and nobody got fired.  Management covered themselves with the threat, and looked the other way.   The sentinel event is what got you fired.  I'm sorry.  Very few things are as painful  as being fired as a nurse.

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

On 2/26/2019 at 11:46 PM, JadedCPN said:

Why should the hospital be held accountable for allowing a nurse to access a patient's chart?

Because HIPAA violations are charged to a facility, not an individual, per the law. Facilities are responsible for seeing that their employees and business associates are compliant with policies protecting PHI. They can do whatever they want to those people, but any penalty or  fine from OCR is levied on the institution. 

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

On 3/6/2019 at 9:21 PM, Orca said:

One thing that puzzles me, though, is what specific occurrence during this whole situation caused the hospital to research who had accessed the record in the first place.

I’d guess a lawsuit from a family member or regulatory body because something really bad happened, the colloquial definition of “sentinel event.” 

[prenursingtips1112]

Im so sorry this happened to you.