Pt's FB pictures of me

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I am a nursing student, and my dad is an ON/GYN. I recently helped him deliver a baby, and his pt took pictures of us and posted them on Facebook. I would like to have these pictures, as I hope to become a CNM, and would love to have a picture of my dad and me at my first delivery. (There are pics of us with and without the baby.)

Is it a HIPAA violation if I click on the "..." and save these pictures to my phone since she made them public on Facebook (we are not FB friends. I searched for her.) I really want these pictures, but want to have them legitimately. Thanks!

Specializes in Critical Care.
Interesting article....HIPAA and Social Networking Sites: A Legal Minefield for Employers.Using a patient name that you KNOW from being involved in their care is using their protected personal information.

I don't see how the quote you gave supports this statement. I don't see "protected personal information" defined, particularly as PHI.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
No. ......

It's where the name was obtained that makes it an ethical problem.

You would be ok if your car mechanic, or waiter from the last restaurant you went to, or anyone else that happened to know your name from a professional interaction showed up at the hospital to visit you?

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I don't see how the quote you gave supports this statement. I don't see "protected personal information" defined, particularly as PHI.
All such workforce members are prohibited, with limited exceptions, from using or disclosing individually identifiable health information the patients name when encountered as a patient is PHI. You can't go home and say... Hey guess who is in the hospital.
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It's where the name was obtained that makes it an ethical problem.

You would be ok if your car mechanic, or waiter from the last restaurant you went to, or anyone else that happened to know your name from a professional interaction showed up at the hospital to visit you?

I might be flattered.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
All such workforce members are prohibited, with limited exceptions, from using or disclosing individually identifiable health information the patients name when encountered as a patient is PHI. You can't go home and say... Hey guess who is in the hospital.

The name by itself is not PHI, combining an identifier such as a name with health information, such as "in the hospital" is PHI. If it contains no health related information and is just a name it is not PHI.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

I think this is more of an ethical dilemma than a legal one, however, a lawyer could easily enough make a case out of it.

Name is one of 18 PHI identifiers. If it is combined with a medical operation (say for instance childbirth) or a full face photographic image, it would be a HIPAA violation without much of a stretch.

http://www.research.ucsf.edu/chr/HIPAA/chrHIPAAphi.asp

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Specializes in Critical Care.
I think this is more of an ethical dilemma than a legal one, however, a lawyer could easily enough make a case out of it.

Name is one of 18 PHI identifiers. If it is combined with a medical operation (say for instance childbirth) or a full face photographic image, it would be a HIPAA violation without much of a stretch.

UCSF Human Research Protection Program - CHR - HIPAA - PHI Identifiers & Definition

A full face photographic image is an identifier, not health information, if a photo had the face of the patient as well health information (a picture of them having a baby for instance) then that would be PHI and sharing it without the patient's permission would be a HIPAA violation. Looking at a picture of yourself taken by the patient which the patient themselves shared with you and everyone else in the world is absolutely not a HIPAA violation; you are not sharing any health information about the patient.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
It's where the name was obtained that makes it an ethical problem.

You would be ok if your car mechanic, or waiter from the last restaurant you went to, or anyone else that happened to know your name from a professional interaction showed up at the hospital to visit you?

That would seem odd to the situation.

If I took a picture of my waiter and posted it non-privately to facebook and they looked at their own picture I would not see anything odd about that.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
A full face photographic image is an identifier not health information, if a photo had the face of the patient as well health information (a picture of them having a baby for instance) then that would be PHI and sharing it without the patient's permission would be a HIPAA violation. Looking at a picture of yourself taken by the patient which the patient themselves shared with you and everyone else in the world is absolutely not a HIPAA violation; you are not sharing any health information about the patient.[/quote']

So sorting through this woman's Facebook photos where her name is on it and she is holding a new born baby in the hospital...

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Specializes in Critical Care.
So sorting through this woman's Facebook photos where her name is on it and she is holding a new born baby in the hospital...

That's not sharing her information, that's viewing something she has shared. A Nurse (or anyone for that matter) should not then re-post or otherwise share any photos or other information that might reveal her PHI, but that's not what's happening in this situation.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
That's not sharing her information that's viewing something she has shared. A Nurse (or anyone for that matter) should not then re-post or otherwise share any photos or other information that might reveal her PHI, but that's not what's happening in this situation.[/quote']

Viewing and downloading and posting something that she shared.

I am just playing devil's advocate here. Again from a legal standpoint it's a gray area. From a ethically and student nurse perspective it is a bit more questionable.

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I can't find anything to support that names by themselves are PHI. Protected health information is health or payment information that is combined with an identifier, the identifier by itself is not PHI as it contains no health information.

It is the REASONING that one gets the name. The only way you know the name, or that the patient was in the facility is due to PHI.

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