Pt's FB pictures of me

[rse3]

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!

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

She seemed to limit it to just pictures of her and her dad after the initial responses, but I would agree that she should certainly should not 'keep' (download, print, etc) any pictures with the baby in it, although I see no problem with just viewing them.

She can look to her hearts desire...it's the downloading that presents the issue

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

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I would definitely say that FB has made our world much smaller. Before FB the odds of you having any contact with patients once they've discharged were next to none unless you lived in a tiny town where everybody knows everyone. Nowadays it's not that simple, now all you need is one FB friend in common and their name/face can pop up on your wall quite frequently. As for the pics in question the album was set to "public" meaning anyone in the world can view them and download them. That's how catfishes set up their fake profiles. And is it still a HIPPA violation if she isn't sharing any of the patient's private information?

The bigger question is not HIPAA it professionalism and conduct becoming a professional and crossing those boundaries.

Is it worth the debate and consequences for you own private satisfaction?

Personally I wouldn't take the risk

[bagladyrn, RN]

To the OP: Whether or not you end up concluding that this could be a HIPAA violation, consider how many of the posters here believe that it is. Now consider that any one of them could be one of your instructors or a hospital admin. Do you really want to take the chance that someone with power over you in terms of academia or employment could become aware of this and view it as a violation? Better to err on the side of caution and skip the whole thing.

[sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN]

Thanks, MunoRN. That's what I thought, but I wanted to double check. I have no intent to repost these pictures on social media, regardless of how I get them. I simply want a picture to print off and put in a personal photo album.

I will make ever legitimate (and non stalker) attempt to contact this girl. I'm 99.9% positive that she would want me to have them. I just need to find out how to contact her now.

i had posted a reply i no longer agree with, thanks to peer opinion, i removed as it would potentialy cause more harm than good

[BostonFNP, APRN]

IMHO, this is an even bigger risk. Sending private messages and friend requests to a former patient could spell major trouble.

[sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN]

IMHO, this is an even bigger risk. Sending private messages and friend requests to a former patient could spell major trouble.

i have to agree with BOSTON FNP! and after thinking about my prior response, no longer agree with it , so will be editing it, Thank you as always Boston

[sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN]

facebook is a dangerous and very slippery slope for healthcare providers, and should be used with extream caution by same

[BostonFNP, APRN]

facebook is a dangerous and very slippery slope for healthcare providers and should be used with extream caution by same [/quote']

Very true, on both sides of the bed. I recent had a colleague that got into an argument with a primary care patient about prescribing medication and the individual was able to find her address via Facebook and showed up at her house! Scary scenario there as well.

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

Facebook and work related things makes me head hurt. Anything on facebook can go viral in a very short amount of time. I work as a school nurse and I would never think to look up a parent/student to see if they had a photo of myself and a student from a special event. My "scrapbook" of special moments in my job is only in my head.

Now, if that student were to print that photo and present it to me as a gift, I would take it and display in my office, but that is on the student's terms.

OP, while I can understand why you might like that photo, the fact that you were about to share your first delivery experience with your father already makes in a special memory in your head that I bet your and he will never forget. A shared secret, so to speak :). Best of luck to you!

[MunoRN, RN]

She can look to her hearts desire...it's the downloading that presents the issue

How does that 'present the issue'?

[MunoRN, RN]

Very true, on both sides of the bed. I recent had a colleague that got into an argument with a primary care patient about prescribing medication and the individual was able to find her address via Facebook and showed up at her house! Scary scenario there as well.

You have to go out of your way to share your address on facebook, which probably was the bigger mistake of this person.

But even so, haven't phone books been around for a while? Why do we attribute the risk of knowing where someone lives to facebook? Is there maybe a little technology phobia involved?

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

How does that 'present the issue'?

I wouldn't do it. I don't want the hassle from my employer. I don't want a nurse contacting me for a picture of my kid. I think that is over stepping the boundaries of professionalism. I don't want my kids picture on a strangers phone for her scrapbook of nursing firsts.

I think it's abuse of the nurses privilege into a patients private life. While it may not be directly HIPAA I think it is conduct unbecoming a professional.