Would you do it?

[jennjen512]

Today I had patient's ex daughter in law call wanting info on the patient. We only give condition over the phone because of HIPPA. She was not happy that I would not release info and called the nursing supervisor who told me that I had to give her the info. I got at least four calls from the nursing supervisor and three from the patient's ex daughter in law in the coure of 12 hrs while I am trying to provide quality care to 2 very confused post CABG patients. In the end the supervisor ended up giving the info herself because I would not. This is a very short version of the story, but I wanted some other nurses input on the situation.

[singleprego]

If the pt was AOX3 I would transfer the call to the pt.

I did get a call from the CDC or something asking for information on a pt. To make a long story short, I had the house supervisor give the information. For one, I never heard of them calling the floor to ask questions, two - how do I know its really the CDC? The supervisor took the call ....

[bagladyrn, RN]

Since this became an issue in which your supervisor was ordering you to ignore privacy regulations, I'd put in a written request for clarification on this issue to the HIPAA Compliance Officer for your facility. Every facility is required to have one. This way you are covered the next time this occurs.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

I only give out very general information, such as: "She sat in her chair for breakfast today, now she's resting and hasn't had any complaints of pain.". If they want specifics, like medications, test results, etc., I tell them that I'm not allowed to give that information over the phone.

[BradleyRN]

Usually there is a HIPAA password for the pt. If they know that, then i dont mind giving them information.

[Batman24]

You did the right thing. Your supervisor needs to be tutored on HIPAA. It's a bad sign that she didn't realize she just broke guidelines. And if she did know and did it anyone then she's spineless. If anything comes of this her ass will be in a sling not yours. Good for you.

[whodatnurse]

this matter was addressed by the head of the office at the department of health and human services responsible for all-matters-hippa-related in today's nationally syndicated "hints from heloise" colunn. here's the full text:

dear heloise:

jan from arkansas recounted the distressing story of a hospital refusing to give her information about her husband's condition after he was admitted to the emergency room. the hospital claimed that the hipaa required the information be withheld. as director of the office for civil rights, which enforces the hipaa [health insurance portability and accountability act] privacy rule, i want to set the record straight and say that the hospital was not correct. the privacy rule, which is a federal regulation under hipaa that governs the protection of individually identifiable health information, specifically allows hospitals and other health-care providers to share a patient's health information with a spouse, other relative or friend involved in the patient's care if the patient agrees to the disclosure. if the patient is incapacitated, a hospital or doctor can share information if they believe it is in the patient's best interest.

in situations like jan's, where her frightened husband clearly wanted her help, the privacy rule absolutely permits the hospital to explain his condition to a spouse. hipaa, however, does not require hospitals to disclose patient information in these situations. so, if you are told by staff that hipaa prevents them from sharing relevant information, you may want to talk to a supervisor.

if they are able to do so, patients should clearly identify to the hospital whom they want information to be shared with -- their spouse, a friend, etc. there are no special forms for this; hipaa does not require this to be in writing.

also, hipaa permits hospitals to inform a caller whether the individual is a patient and, if so, the patient's general health condition and location in the facility.

i wish jan and her husband the best and hope that all your readers will learn more about their rights under hipaa by visiting our web site,[color=#0c4790]http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa.

winston wilkinson, director office for civil rights department of health and human services washington

source cited: washington post, june 24, 2008, page c8