Reporting meds to the Police when a patient dies....HIPAA?

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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?

I thought about this thread at 0330 on 6/24 as I was at a hospice patient's home where she had just died. I was gathering up HOSPICE meds from a shelf in the living room and there was a bottle of liquid MS and a bottle of Ativan . . . prescribed by a physician after her discharge from a hospital 70 miles from here who has nothing to do with our hospice. And I left those behind as they are not my responsibility.

:up:

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I read the whole thread just to make sure. I can't believe no one suggested this:

Report a HIPAA violation to HHS. It's anonymous and will generate an inquiry from them or a response that it is not a violation.

I thought I was pretty up on HIPAA. It first reared it's ugly head to me in 1998 when I did IT work for one of the large group health insurers. This is a very complicated issue in relation to HIPAA. Report it and let them figure it out.

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/index.html

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