precaution meetings

[RedWeasel, RN]

I left this response on another thread but am posting now to get others opinions. I know staff is to abide by the HIPPA laws they agreed to on hire, but to me HIPPA is a "NEED to KNOW basis." So to those who will say don't you trust your staff? It isn't that. It is that it just shouldn't be shared. If it isn't your patient we shouldn't know about it. Our floor has to do "PRECAUTION MEETINGS" before our shifts with the previous charge nurse. We have about 40 rooms. Secretaries, CNAs, RNs etc all have to be there. The charge nurse goes through each room, tells if they are on bed alarm chair alarms, what type of isolation they are on and for what and where, the specific labs or diagnostics that are pending etc, different behavior issues with patients and family, etc. It comes from the top. The new CEO who doesn't want to be a great facility but "an excellent one" said he did this at his other facility. This smells of lawsuit. ((((It is hard enough to keep staff from looking at the admissions in the ER and what they are in for. I tell them "what if you or family was coming in with something embarrassing-would you want me to look you up?" They say "well I am not going into their chart and looking at their info". I say "Yes you are. That list gives name, age, and diagnosis."))))))) ANYWAY these meetings are just as intrusive and suspicious. I find this HIGHLY inappropriate. If I or a family member were in our facility (and they have been) I would be livid if they were discussing my family, or my, medical care, or isol issues with the entire staff. We ALREADY have a white board with who is on alarms etc. Does anyone else have to do this? DO YOU THINK THIS IS A HIPPA ISSUE? I do. I just get so angry with "what can we do to be better?" How about make sure we can be staffed correctly and have safe equipment?

[towntalker]

this is such a sticky wicket, privacy is essential to trust but stafff needs to know which patient is not capable of making a checking out with out doctors orders

there are patients that are not on isolation but then they stress the good handwashing technique, which should be for all patients but is it

[kemper1974]

HIPPA is one of the reasons I despise computer charting at the bedside. I work in OB and with the huge amounts of visitors in the rooms, it would be fairly easy for someone to look over your shoulder.

[RedWeasel, RN]

What is scary is the visitors aren't even shy about doing it! Sometimes the 'i am just a friend from her church' will even ask 'what are you giving her?' "what is that for?" Really?...really? Is that what we are gonna do here? Well then, "what is that in your purse? Can I look through your purse, can the patient cuz that is basically what you are doing....invasion of privacy....:)

[Batman24]

Huge HIPAA violation being done by the CN. You need a HIPAA inservice done immediately and it should include your CEO. Either they know better and are ignoring it or they are grossly ignorant to the facts. Ignorance isn't an excuse here either. This shouldn't be happening. The only people that should be involved in a patient's diagnosis, etc. are those providing care to the patient. They are sharing everything with everyone and they would be dinged big time should it be reported.