Published
Here's a HIPAA question for you...
Is it a HIPAA violation for nurses to report health information to State Troopers at the mandate of employer without suspicion of wrongdoing or potential harm of self or others?
By taking them. Not giving them an option to keep them.Is a HIPAA violation? Like the other poster said, it's a family member not the person and they are in possession if drugs that are not prescribed to them.
And after you wrest those controlled substances from the family, then what? Now you've got meds that haven't been counted with another staff member or family member while you're in the home. The family can say, "Oh no, there was a full bottle of Oxy," and there you are with three tabs left in the bottle. At best you'll still have your job after being suspended pending drug testing. At worst, you're working drive-thru at Burger King.
It would be important for posters to know that this particular hospital is the only hospital in the region, with the only HH and Hospice for the region. Nursing jobs are very limited in the area relative to employers, that makes the nurses VERY hesitant to take a stand on this issue.
They need a really good attorney to back them up. Bottom line, it's easier to find another job than get your license restored.
lol...that was a cute thought...nah, this is not the kind of guy that would appreciate that. And remember, he fired the one and only nurse who questioned this decision...even though that firing put the entire hospice program at risk!It will be interesting to see what the state BON has to say about it...
Does that mean the BON has been made aware of this? Your wording seems to indicate so.
Management has mandated that the nurses report to law enforcement because law enforcement wants the information.They want to know what medications, in what quantity were in the home (especially opiates) and they want the name and contact info of the family member that either witnessed destruction or maintained control of the medications.
Law enforcement has said that possession of opiates belonging to a deceased patient is a crime...so we are required to give them that info. PERIOD, in writing, with the RN signature (the police run "checks" on the nurses signing too)...mandated, the nurse has no option, no judgement, no call in this reporting. It is not formally requested through Med Records or any other fashion.
This is particularly an issue for hospice staff...they are VERY conflicted about this given the HIPAA law regarding law enforcement.
What do you think?
This is what I would tell the employer and the police: There is no law that requires you to do this and I would refuse to get involved in it.
No, it is not a crime (and I would ask for evidence of the specific statute that makes it one). If that were true then every time I left the house and my Rx for opiates was in the house, legally they are not in my possession. That is as ridiculous as charging me with a crime if I LOST them.
It is nothing for you to get involved in and tell the police that if they want to raid the house after you leave that is their call, but you are not an officer and you are not getting involved in it.
To me, that wouldn't EVEN BE A QUESTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yep...one nurse questioned it and lost her job immediately...given that there is NOT a lot of nursing employment in this area, the other nurses are trying to keep their heads down on this one, desiring to keep their jobs.
What a crummy situation for them all. I mean realistically we cannot always quit the job when you have to pay the mortgage.
Yep...one nurse questioned it and lost her job immediately...given that there is NOT a lot of nursing employment in this area, the other nurses are trying to keep their heads down on this one, desiring to keep their jobs.
There are some things worth losing their job over. Giving personal information to the police when they have no legal right to have it after they have lost a family member is one of them.
The only crimes I'm mandated to report to the police, are child abuse, elderly abuse, abuse of the disabled, gunshot wounds and dog bites. I don't understand why your hospital feels the need to do this? If a patient comes in to my ER with a bag of pills with many different names on them, I can not report it! If a patient tells me he stole the bottle of Oxy from his upstairs neighbor, I still can't report it! If he tells me he took them from the home of his aunt who died three weeks ago I still can't report it! I feel sorry for the mess you are in. Maybe someone smarter than me knows of a way to anonymously report this? Good luck to you!
OCNRN63, RN
5,979 Posts
I think I would be getting myself a lawyer, because there's no way I am going to comply with that. This just beggars belief.