Was this a HIPAA violation

[blkbusa13]

Patients daughter asks why her mother is on contact. Nurse states that it's a precaution until mrsa is ruled out. Is this a violation?

[Hpy_Vly_RNBSN]

I don't think it is. Telling the daughter outright the mother has MRSA would be disclosing medical information. Telling the daughter that it's for precautions is simply stating a hospital policy.

[springchick1, ADN, RN]

Maybe the mother gave permission for the daughter to know all the medical info.

[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

Is the daughter an adult or a child? If she's an adult, is she mentally competent? If she's mentally competent, has she agreed to have her family involved in her care?

It seems like a minor thing, but there are patients who do not want their families to know ANYTHING.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

No violation as described.

You might ask the mother if you can discuss this further with the daughter, if she is able to have this discussion with you.

If the daughter is the healthcare proxy or holds healthcare power of attorney, you must discuss it with her if she asks.

[toomuchbaloney]

Stating hospital or facility policy is not a violation of HIPAA unless the policy itself is in violation of the rules/law.

There is no violation of the law in the scenario you presented.

[ambiance]

I have to agree with toomuchbaloney. It is not a violation to tell the patient's visiting child that it is standard hospital policy to screen patients for MRSA and keep them on contact precautions until proven otherwise. This shows that every patient is treated the same and makes the hospital norm no big secret. It would be a violation for the nurse to declare that the patient is on contact precautions due to MRSA to anyone who does not need to know or is not on the patient's disclosure list.