CompuNurse

Thanks for the feedback so far, and I absolutely agree with you that the production data bases should be free of test patients. Unfortunately, I came into this situation with these practices already in place, so it will take some time to correct. I also agree with you that it is completely inappropriate for a staff member to be using the online EMR to browse or surf for information not pertinent to the work at hand. I also agree that it is not a breach of confidentiality to log into a patient's chart to troubleshoot a problem with that patient's chart in the system. My question more specifically, is: In the absence of certain factors (i.e. systems with no test interfaces, etc) that make it impossible to get the information from a test system, and if you need to pull up a live patient chart to get the information you need, is it better to pull up a stranger's chart (which I'm uncomfortable with) or your own chart (which should contain no surprises)?

I have a question, especially for other nurses working with computerized systems. Does your hospital have a policy against staff accessing their own online records? If so, is this policy written or unwritten? Is it based on hospital policy or state law? The reason I'm asking: I work with testing and training in information systems. The number of test patients in the system is limited due to numerous legitimate factors, and often you need to see how the data is organized in a live patient. Due to confidentiality reasons, I don't chose to access another patient's record for this purpose. Other staff state this is a legitimate reason to access another patient's record, but that they'd get into a lot of trouble for accessing their own record. I'm unable to find a written policy regarding accessing your own online record. How is this handled in your organization? Is there some legal recource someone can direct me to regarding this? Thanks.