mitch0310

I am currently taking a Mental Health Nursing class, post-level 1, pre-level 2 (summer curriculum). One of my assignments received a 0 because the syllabus stated "HIPAA - Use of patient identifiers in any assignment will result in a "zero" for the assignment with possible dismissal from the program." The assignment was: a description of the events according to the rubric that occurred during my clinical time and a self-reflection on said clinical time. I received a 0 because I used the first names (patient identifiers) of patients in the assignment ---> no last names nor clinical sight was mentioned, and no other patient identifiers were used. Despite the fact I broke the syllabus rules, does this count as a violation of HIPAA (especially since this counts as a communication between healthcare providers)? And if so, can anyone point to a clause in HIPAA that specifically points out why why this is a violation? P. S. The document was submitted electronically, so does that have an affect on the HIPAA rules&regulations?