This seems like Hipaa violation

[shabish]

I take messages for drs offices. We get hospitals who call in pt admits to us. We take info & rch dr. In some cases, the op taking the info does not get our "required" info which is pt location & reason for admit. (this info is for the drs benefit) We will sometimes call hosp & find out if pt has been assigned a room & the reason for their admission to the hosp. Is the hosp (er, hosp op) allowed to disclose the reason for the pt's admission to us?

[shabish, CNA]

I do not ask reason for admit if I have to call the hosp but my co worker does. I told her I don't think it's right for us to ask but she wants to get the info for our client (dr) which I understand. This is what prompted me to ask this question.

[Dogen]

The purpose of HIPAA was to make it easier to coordinate between providers caring for the same patient. The dependence on releases stems from a section that says a patient must be given the opportunity to refuse disclosures to other individuals (friends and family). You could literally fax the entire chart from the hospital to the MD office without the patient's knowledge, as long as you knew who was on the other end getting it (Kim from the answering service) and it was reasonable to believe they were who they said they were.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

HIPAA authorizes info disclosed to another entity for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. I'm assuming this PCP will at the very least be following up with pt after s/he is d/ced from the hospital, if not seeing the pt while an inpatient. So, the disclosure is covered under 'treatment.' The PCP will need this information to treat the patient during follow-up/after discharge. Not a violation as best I can tell.

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

We cannot give out information over the telephone if THEY called US. We can give info out if WE call THEM. In other words, anyone can call our hospital and claim to be from any doctor's office. How do we know who is really on the other end? It could be a reporter for the National Enquirer for all we know. We will fax info to the doctor's office, but only if the patient signed a consent. This is just the rules at my facility.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

You NEVER know who's on the other end of a phone call, NEVER. Kind of like here. Anyone could be posing as anything.

Ok I see. I thought because we, the service called back the hospital to get info about a pt (they have no idea who we really are) and they give it to us, I thought THAT was a violation.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

You NEVER know who's on the other end of a phone call, NEVER. Kind of like here. Anyone could be posing as anything.

But with caller ID, identifying at least the location is much easier. Most hospital phones are equipped with this. If a pt is known to be a pt of Dr. John Smith at XYZ Clinic, and someone calls and identifies themselves Dr. Smith's nurse from XYZ clinic, and the hospital caller ID shows XYZ clinic, I think it's reasonable to assume that they're legitimate.

I guess if there were really any doubt there, you could always take down a number and someone in the food chain can verify with the patient that they are in fact Dr. Smith's patient at XYZ clinic and that it's ok to release info, signed consent or whatever.

Obviously if the facility has a specific procedure that's stricter than this, OR if state law is stricter, then those rules should be followed. HIPAA law does not replace whatever stricter rules are in place.

But...any disclosure for the purposes of treatment, payment or operations is covered by HIPAA as a legitimate disclosure, and if facilities are giving out privacy notices like they're supposed to, this should be plainly stated.

[Mavrick, BSN, RN]

You NEVER know who's on the other end of a phone call, NEVER. Kind of like here. Anyone could be posing as anything.

I think that is the point OP is trying to make. When she calls the hospital, how does the hospital know she is actually a legitimate caller from a legitimate doctor's office. I suppose you could give them your doctor's office number and they could call you back.

I get phone calls all the time from "family" or "just like family" wanting to know how a particular surgery went. I no can say and have to refer them back to the family to ask their questions.

from Mavrick, the President of All Nurses