Wanted to get everyone's opinion--regarding hipaa

[bulldoggurlie]

I am a new RN. I had a patient who's friend and medical decision maker is a physician who has privileges at the hospital in which I work. He asked me how the patient was doing, which I had no problem disclosing, however he insisted that he looked at the chart. He said that as long as I was there as a 'chaperon' it was okay. This sounded fishy to me so I asked my charge nurse. She said no, called the hospital supervisor and the chart was taken away from him. He did not take this very easily and a large argument ensued. The physician is on a completely unrelated specialty and not the patient' doctor in anyway...just friend/decision maker. Does he have any right to look at this patient's chart without the typical procedures given to other family members through medical records or was my judgement correct in sounding the alarm. I can really care less if he has permission or not to look at the chart. I am forthcoming with information to my patient's poa's and decision makers. I do not, however, wish to lose my newly obtained license, lose my job, and/or be fined up to 250,000 dollars for violating hipaa. Just wanted to hear everyone's opinions on the matter...it was a newly transferred patient to my floor and the physician stated that this was the only floor that had any problems with it.

[Batman25]

Under the current circumstances you did the right thing and he knows it. The prob was no one else ever stopped him when they should have. Good for you.

Out policy is no one gets the chart even POA without going to Medical Records. We have to direct them to that department and they take care of it from there. I like the way it is set up.