What would you do?

[mom4josh]

My friend was recently in the hospital. While she was there, she told me that she had heard the nurses at the station giving report... about her! I told her that that was a serious violation of HIPPA laws, and she (not a nurse) just blew it off and said she didn't care and that it didn't bother her. Well, it bothered me, because if she could hear, then probably other patients could hear about her and she could hear about other patients.

My question... would you call the hospital and report this or would you let it go? If you would report it, who would you call?

[RN1982]

I give report at the nurse's station all the time. I don't think its a violation.

[mom4josh]

It's not a violation if no one hears you, but if someone besides the other nurse hears names and/or room numbers and specifics about a patient, it most definitely is a HIPPA violation.

[widi96]

Where do you expect the nurses to go? We give report directly outside the patient's room as that is where are 'wall desk' and charts are. Makes it very easy for the patient to hear report. Where do you suggest the nurses go, as there is no place where there won't be other staff, visitors or patients.

[*ac*]

I don't think my hospital would take the complain of a friend of a patient, who wasn't even there when the alleged incident happened and where nobody was actually hurt, very seriously.

[Mulan]

JCAHO, I believe it is, is now advocating doing shift to shift patient rounds and giving report in front of the patient.

[Mulan]

and, no, to answer the question, I would not call and report it

[mom4josh]

JCAHO, I believe it is, is now advocating doing shift to shift patient rounds and giving report in front of the patient.

I don't have a problem with patients hearing their own report. It is the report of others that I have a problem with.

[Mulan]

I don't have a problem with patients hearing their own report. It is the report of others that I have a problem with.

You said she heard her own report, you didn't say anything about anyone else's.

[RN1982]

OMG...let's report this person for this and thiis person for that. There's sometimes nowhere else to give report. You said the patient heard their own report, fine. But stop thinking that every little thing needs to be reported. I can't tell you how many times I was giving report on a patient and a visitor came up behind me and overheard something I said because they were too nosy to mind their own business.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

No, I would not report it because if the patient didn't have an issue with it, then, why would I? If she did have a problem with it, then, I would tell her who to report it to, but would not get directly involved. I do know that HIPPA is alive and well, and that also we should take precautions to protect privacy, however, many times, the proper arenas for doing so are not always provided by management (even after reporting it); we have to continue to exist, function and work.

I can't count how many times us nurses have had no choice but to use inappropriate areas for patient teaching and giving injections in my clinic, due to lack of space. We have used the conference room, a doctor's private office, a, the crash and once, the clean utility room. I have had to walk around with 24 hour urine bottles to discard of the needles until I can empty them out into a sharps container. We are trying, but I am sure that on occasion, someone may hear a piece of something that does not pertain to them. Knowing what our nursing partners are dealing with should make us try to work with than against them.

[Turtle in scrubs]

It is a difficult situation. On the units I've been on there is generally no place to give a report w/o others overhearing. This, although not ideal, is not what bothers me the most. The idea that a patient or visitor would hear medical information about others is not that appalling. It was not that long ago in our history that the patients were all on wards and there was no hope for confidentiality.

What I find inappropriate is the social conversations and disrespectful comments about patients throughout the shift, such as "OMG - he is crazy and driving me up the freakin wall", "I hate Dr. Blank", "have you seen his wound? It is disgusting", "damn, 57 is on his call light again - I hope his wife gets here soon so she wipe his..... etc.

I would not report this. However if I were the patient I would probably make reference to what I heard, making the staff aware that their voices carry b/c I feel that many people don't realize just how much patients hear.