Who do I report a Hippa violation to?

[doodle2]

I work in a walk in clinic in Alabama. The office manager and a girl in the front office are close friends. The girl in the front office is telling her husband (a supervisor at a plant) about all of his employees that come to our clinic. On 1/13 a girl came in that worked for her husband and the patient told her that everyone thought her husband was gay. Well to make a loooong story short. The lady is getting fired from her job for slander when really her privacy was violated.

Who do I report this violation to? I can't report it to the office manager becase it would be pointless since they are friends. I need to know someone outside of our office to contact. Does anyone know?

[doodle2]

Thank you all for your replies. I got good information from them. But to clear up a few possible misunderstandings... The patient just made a statement and said "Oh I didn't know you were his wife, we all thought he was gay by the way he walked." Well at that point the front office worker told her husband on the phone the girls name and that she said that she thought he was gay. I am worried and angry because it seems that everytime a patient comes to the office if they work at the plant, she has to run her mouth and tell her husband the name of the person who came in. It is not important if the patient asks for an excuse. The point is that if I go to an office I don't care who that nurse/receptionist knows or how well they know them or me, I don't want them telling that other person I was there. That is where we are protected by "HIPPA" . I am not trying to say that hippa has something to do with the comment made about the guy being gay. They should have something to do with her always telling him information that patients rely on us to be confidential. I understand that it needs to be handled in the proper chain of command, but when you have the office manager being best friends with the person you are complaining about that will probably end up making it hard on me and nothing in the end happening to the one that is running her mouth. Any other information or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[JBudd, MSN]

Is there a medical director over the office manager? That is the person you should talk to. If you don't want to confront anyone in the office, follow the other link. There are lots of jobs out there, keep your honor and license intact, is my advice.

You are correct, the fact that she is telling anyone (husband or not) about people seen at the clinic is a HIPAA violation. If they request a medical excuse, it is still their decision whether or not to give it to anyone else, it is their responsibility not yours. Even having given one out does not give you permission to tell anyone the person was in the clinic. Part of the privacy act paperwork we give out in our hospital asks if the person wishes to be treated as a privacy patient, in which case we don't even acknowledge they are in hospital. Otherwise, the only information we provide is that a person is there, and stable, critical, whatever. No medical data, info, NOTHING. Oftentimes it is the receptionist (in our case the registration clerk who gives out the privacy act paperwork and gets the signatures agreeing the patient received it). If your receptionist is the one handing it out, ask her if she's READ what she is giving out.

[Gompers, BSN, RN]

The whole thing about the girl at the front desk telling her husband that so-and-so thought he was gay - I don't think that's a HIPAA violation so much as it is gossip.

True, just saying that someone was at the doctor's office or hospital can be a HIPAA violation. But I think what we're talking about here is just a very very gossipy girl. BTW, I hope she got a taste of her own medicine when she realized that other people are gossiping about her own husband!

I would write an anonymous note to the manager that the girl is gossiping too much on the job, and that she's breaking confidentiality by telling her husband who is showing up for medical treatment. They might be friends, but the manager is still the boss. She might not know what's going on.

Now, if the girl was calling her husband and giving out information as to WHY these people are getting treatment, then I'd report her butt so fast the manager wouldn't even have a second to protect her friend!!!