Should I Report?

[Skeeter19910]

A pediatric patient was admitted to the unit whose mother has not made very many nurse friends.The mother's name was Googled and on an official government public information site, it was discovered that mom has 2 cases of assault with bodily injury that she is on probation for and 1 case of theft she is on probation for.

My concern is that I could be fired for a HIPAA violation (even though just her name was googled) if I report these findings to a hospital social worker? However, I feel that if someone does not report something,this innocent being could go to home an extremely volatile, potentially life threatening environment

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!

[CardiacKittyRN]

Are there any physical or emotional signs of abuse in the pt? If not, I wouldn't report it because the only the thing you would have to report was something you googled. I know those charges are public records, but it kinda seems like an invasion of privacy to just have googled her name? I would just stick to concrete evidence related to the current situation with the pt... Not something that could be an unrelated incident. I get where you're coming from, but at the same time I don't think that's grounds for reporting the parent and you could possibly get in trouble for googling her!

That is a tough situation though.. I commend you for working peds! I imagine you see a lot of tough situations like that where you want to step in, but legally may be unable to.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

If these records are public access and you don't have a good clinical reason to bring them up with SW, then suggest that they do a search for the mother's record themselves if they have concerns. CPS is always a good option if you feel the situation warrants more scrutiny.

[scottaprn]

I would only report if their were signs of abuse.

The judge for either case you found could have taken away the custody of the child at trial. His findings at the time were that she wasnt an unfit parent. It is a shame that the child has to be raised in that environment but the justice system has already weighed in on the topic

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Not a HIPAA violation, at least. Think about it: If you tell someone something that you 1) did not find in the course of your employment (I am hoping you didn't use the hospital computer to do your little search) and 2) is available on public websites, and 3) has NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYONE's PHI, wherein lies the HIPAA violation?

However, I agree with the suggestion that you drop the suggestion to the social worker/discharge planner, and let him or her follow up as part of the safe discharge plan. If you have suspicions (not proof) of possible abuse, you would still have a duty to report it to whatever is the law in your state (it varies), but your opinion about the mother's personality or past brushes with the law don't rise to that standard, not the way you describe it here.

And then keep it to yourself. Although I would be willing to bet that your crack about "mother that has not made many nurse friends" means you have already been gabbing about her amongst yourselves, you want to get out of that habit stat, it's classless and unprofessional. You aren't there to be her friends, you're there to take care of her child and teach her what she needs to know about taking him home safely.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Why was the child admitted? Are there signs of abuse or neglect? Technically the mothers criminal history has little bearing on the care of the child at home. Lets say being the devils advocate...that she finally had enough of her druggie boyfriend and decided to hit back for once? She might be a thief but does that mean she hurts her child? She might be a pain in the behind but does that make her unfit? If she in on probation I'll BET DSS is already involved with the family.

NOw...what I would do? I'd give a heads up to social service to feel the Mom out and be sure the resources for the child's care is adequate and appropriate. If however you feel the child is at risk in any way you ARE a MANDATED REPORTER.

HIPAA does not apply.

[toomuchbaloney]

Why were you googling the mother's name?

Like others have stated you are a mandated reporter if there is evidence which makes you concerned about the welfare of the child. In absence of that it sounds like you are a busy body looking for trouble with a parent that you don't like. Perhaps that is not true, but one couldn't tell from reading your post, IMHO.

[Ruas61, BSN, RN]

A pediatric patient was admitted to the unit whose mother has not made very many nurse friends.

So, do you regularly google family members, particularly those that don't make the nurse friend list?

I think you are slippery slope here if you and others are engaging in this kind of activity with patient's family members.

Legal? I don't know. Ethical? In general, I don't think so.

If you have concerns for the child than alert the proper channels.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

You're going to report her because she doesn't socialize well with staff and she has made some bad choices in her past? THOSE things are really none of your business. Now, if you see/suspect signs of abuse to this child, THEN its time to act, but not on with what you have so far

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

Stop googling the names of parents (or patients for that matter). If you are not aware, if you are doing this stuff on a hospital computer, then in fact you have left a footprint which could cost you your job.

And are you googling on your work time? Cause any concern over the well being of your patient must have been put on hold while ya'll were tracking down dirt on Mom.

Listen, unfortunetely there is no backround checks when one decides to have a child. Because this mother has some sort of shady past (and remember, there is 2 sides to each and every story) doesn't mean she can not parent. That she was put on probation as opposed to jail would tell me that there is a lot more to this than what it seems.

What concerns me the most is that while one of ya'll was supposed to be caring for the child, instead you were googling a parent name--on none other than ya'll don't like her. Because you don't like her is not good practice. You are there to take care of the baby, not be judge and jury to the Mom.

If you suspect that the child is being abused, then of course you are mandated to report it. However, I would NOT under any circumstances say to the social worker of your facility, where you and your co-workers are professionals, "hey we googled Mom's name, cause we don't like her very much and cripes on a cracker, we got a hit!!"

Seriously. Ya'll need to perhaps go in and read the child a book or get the kid a snack or something if you have the time to be digging into people's pasts.