3 Pdn agencies in home.....Hipaa violation to look at chart?

[smartnurse1982]

My patient has 3 Pdn agencies in her home.

One agency comes Monday-Wednesday,another comes Thursdays-Friday, and Saturday -Sunday another.

24/hr case.

One day i was peeking through the other 2 agencies charts and our med times do not match Up,they are continuing meds that we have as discontinued,and are giving meds my agency has no orders for. No communication books are in the home.

I asked the other agency nurse who I get report from on Monday mornings about what i saw and she said its a Hipaa violation for me to look at the other agency charts.

Anyone heard of this?

My supervisor also told me to just pay attention to what or MAR says,but i wonder what happens if the other agency gets an order and we do not have any info on that?

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

I have been told many times that they just scribble their signature. I have encountered only one doctor who scrutinized the 485, making hand-written (and initialed) corrections no less. She, it stands to reason, was one of the best pediatricians I've seen. Talk to him about this. See if you can bring some resolution to at least that part of the problem. If your clinical supervisor was on the ball, she would take care of this matter, instead of instructing you to play deaf, dumb, and stupid.

And this is why I'm happy where I work full time now as the clinical nurse managers actually do their job. (It's not perfect and I have coworkers that feel the need to dominate and correct others complete with nursing communication log notes telling everyone else what they are doing wrong)

[smartnurse1982]

What was seen cannot be unseen.

Curiosity killed the cat.

Why did i even bother looking at the other agencies charts.

[caliotter3]

Unless you take the bull by the horns and get some level of cooperation out of the PCP, chances are high that nothing constructive will get done because management at three agencies does not want to do what it should. If you decide to do the minimum, (call the PCP to get updated physician supplemental orders for your agency 485), or nothing at all, just be sure to always be alert and aware of where you stand. Should the hair on the back of your neck start to stand on end for any reason, make arrangements to get out of Dodge, to preserve yourself. You have a clear picture of where your employer places its emphasis.