NO PRIVACY: HIPPA? What's HIPPA

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I'm so sorry I need to vent.

I work in a smaller hospital only about 300 beds, so everybody knows everybody. So anyway, in the past and especially in the last few months there have been many a co-worker ill, surgical or child-bearing in our hospital. There is no privacy! Everybody gossips about the employee or attempts to find out what's wrong. I am not even at work this week and I got a text message saying so and so is in ICU with DKA, BS-672. And I'm like how do you know all that? You don't work ICU??? I just think this is a violation. If I ever fall out at work, ship me off somewhere else!!!!!! These people are just nosy!!! Same thng happened last month when as co-worker delivered her first child. People were runnin in an out of the room just being bothersome. Hello, this is her first child, leave her be!! This is a violation of HIPPA!:crying2:

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I hear ya! Yesterday while on OB rotation the nursing are shouting back and forth about a patient's name and how many centimeters she was...at the nurses' desk which is wide open to the hallways as well as the foyer area at the elevator bank. YUCK!

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Specializes in CTICU.

As soon as I see "HIPPA" I think of hippos splashing in a river. Just FYI, it's HIPAA.

I've been amazed recently taking my mom to hospital that people call out from the reception desk, "Mrs So-and-so is here for her xxxxxx". Mom's always like "Gee, thanks for telling everyone!"

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You know what I mean.

:o

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As soon as I see "HIPPA" I think of hippos splashing in a river. Just FYI, it's HIPAA.

I've been amazed recently taking my mom to hospital that people call out from the reception desk, "Mrs So-and-so is here for her xxxxxx". Mom's always like "Gee, thanks for telling everyone!"

That is exactly how I remember it . . . . it has nothing to do with hippos!! :D:up:

I agree with the privacy stuff - but it happens everywhere. I decided to have my last child 70 miles away in a bigger hospital . . . a nurse worked there who used to work with me in my small hospital; she didn't work in L&D in the new hospital. She saw me out and about after I had my baby and told me she brought up my medical records and read about the delivery and wanted to say how happy she was everything turned out ok (emergency cesarean).

Excuse me? You looked up my medical records?? :mad:

steph

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

HIPAA

Please, people!

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Specializes in CTICU.

I think we covered that already ;)

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LOL. I don't think it makes a difference, people don't practice it!!!!! But for accuracy sake "My Bad".:lol2:

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LOL. I don't think it makes a difference, people don't practice it!!!!!

point well-taken.:D

i'm w/you btw, and get irritated w/snoops.

with or w/o hipaa, i find that most folks mind their beeswax when they shouldn't (i.e., ignoring those in distress) yet butt in when privacy s/b upheld.

leslie

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Soooo sad but true...

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

I worked in a small town hospital a number of years ago, way before HIPAA laws, and NOTHING was sacred. I was always careful to not look into other people's medical records and went so far as to offer to take myself off the case of a few friends. It greatly bothered me that everyone was so cavalier about tossing around medical information. So I went to the DON about it. Told her we had some serious breaches of confidentiality and she agreed. The whole hospital had to attend classes about confidentialiy and a few people were disciplined for talking about patients in the elevator and the lunch room. When I was pregnant I was really worried about my co-workers barging in. I'm a very private person. I was blessed to have an L&D nurse who stood up for my rights, even going so far as to physically bar the door with her body when some of them tried to get sneaky. I as sooooo grateful especially because I had a very long, difficult labor and I needed rest and calm.

If you're bothered by the gossip perhaps you can start with your own floor. Talk about what confidentiality means(because obviously they don't have a clue!) If it continues I suggest you talk to your nurse manager and even the DON. HIPAA is a very big deal and it doesn't matter that you're in a small town hospital "Where everybody knows your name." Your patients are guaranteed their right to privacy BY LAW.

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Today the person cutting my hair told me a story of an obvious violation but it was not deliberate. Her husband had surgery and was given a stack of discharge instructions. She was going through the stuff when she started to realize something was wrong. It turns out that only the top page of the papers had her husbands name on it. The rest belonged to a totally different person with the same first name as her husband. She was disturbed on two levels because she knew the if she had the other guys info someone had her husbands info. She was also disturbed because it could lead to medical error. OK, we all know this stuff happens but the question is what do you do about it?

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