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.
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.

I don't disagree that you shouldn't be keeping a picture of someone else's baby, but I don't see the issue with keeping a picture that is just you and your dad without any other sensitive information in it.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
I don't disagree that you shouldn't be keeping a picture of someone else's baby but I don't see the issue with keeping a picture that is just you and your dad without any other sensitive information in it.[/quote']

She stated she already had photos of her & her dad and was seeking a photo of them with the "first delivery" baby for personal use.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
She stated she already had photos of her & her dad and was seeking a photo of them with the "first delivery" baby for personal use.

The OP's first question:

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.)

Which after the first response changed to:

So do you think that a picture of my dad and me (no baby, no pt info, literally 2 people in scrubs standing against a blank wall) that she posted to her public Facebook page is protected by HIPAA?
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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

I've taken a few days off from this thread, and my conclusion at this point...if someone posts a photo to their Facebook wall taken by a pt that is just them (the OP) and a relative dressed in scrubs--no patient identifiers, no patient, no baby, nothing other than the 2 individuals, and the photo could be in any hospital in America--I really don't see how that, in and of itself, is a HIPAA violation. To be certain there is no violation there has to be nothing to connect the the pt to the OP if the OP does indeed post the picture on her wall. Even though it's not a HIPAA violation, that does not necessarily put the OP in the clear from a violation of the school's policy. Publicly displaying the pt's pic with the baby in it, however, would be a huge no-no.

In my mind, (and my view has evolved on this) there is nothing wrong with searching the person's name on FB to "find" the picture. If you use FB, choose not to put on the privacy filters--then, in my mind, you give up any expectation of privacy. This is akin to a family giving up some privacy if they choose to put an obit in the paper for a deceased loved one. Once again, I stress, that this may run afoul with facility/school social media policies, so be careful.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
In my mind (and my view has evolved on this) there is nothing wrong with searching the person's name on FB to "find" the picture.[/quote']

There is absolutely an ethical problem with "searching" for a patient or former patient on Facebook. Most students would be dismissed from school for this as well.

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There is absolutely an ethical problem with "searching" for a patient or former patient on Facebook. Most students would be dismissed from school for this as well.

Yep. And the school could lose the clinical site.

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It would be a far different story if, in fact, the OP knew the person outside of being present at her delivery. But she apparently did not. The only "relationship" they have is that the OP was present in the delivery room, and remembered her name.

It is NEVER a prudent idea to remember names of patients so you can look them up on social media no matter what the intent. It is just not good practice. I think that the OP has long gone from this thread, however, going forward, it is would not be worth one's education to start asking about pictures.

In my facility, if we look people up on anything, start contacting them no matter how well intentioned, and we lose our jobs. Period.

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Specializes in Med Surg.

How the heck do you happen upon these pictures on facebook?

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
How the heck do you happen upon these pictures on facebook?

She searched on Facebook after remembering her name after clinical. It happened that the patient posted the photos to public instead of more secure friends

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Specializes in Critical Care.
There is absolutely an ethical problem with "searching" for a patient or former patient on Facebook. Most students would be dismissed from school for this as well.

Yep. And the school could lose the clinical site.

I wouldn't disagree with such rule if it actually was common, but I can't find anything to confirm that this is a common rule or that it is even rare.

Nursing Program social media policies are widely available on the internet, I've gone through three pages of google results for both individual programs and general recommendations and can't find anything close to what you're suggesting is common.

Maybe you could direct me to a policy that says this.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Purdue University page 26 and 27....http://www.nursing.purdue.edu/academics/undergraduate/handbook.pdf

Examples include but are not limited to LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Second

Life, Flickr, blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds, Allnurses.com, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and MySpace

Protect confidential, sensitive, and proprietary information: Do not post confidential or proprietary information about the university, staff, students, clinical facilities, patients/clients, or others with whom one has contact in the role of a Purdue University School of nursing student.

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I wouldn't disagree with such rule if it actually was common but I can't find anything to confirm that this is a common rule or that it is even rare. Nursing Program social media policies are widely available on the internet, I've gone through three pages of google results for both individual programs and general recommendations and can't find anything close to what you're suggesting is common. Maybe you could direct me to a policy that says this.[/quote']

Students have to abide by the policy and procedures of the clinical site. And while you may not be able to find what you are looking for in google to prove your point, it doesn't mean that they aren't there. Hospitals have strict social media policies and if students can't abide by them, the students and the school can be told not toco me back.

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