HIPAA Q&A: Nurse's actions violate privacy
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, February 1, 2010
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Q. A patient comes into the ED and a technician x-rays his injured leg. The radiologist noted a discrepancy in the reading of radiology films the next day. When ED staff members attempt to contact the patient, they find that he provided incorrect contact information and are unable to reach him. A nurse in the ED knows the patient’s family and calls the patient’s father. The nurse informs the father that his son needs to have another x-ray taken and asks him to relay the message to his son. Has the nurse violated patient privacy?
A. Sharing this information with the patient’s father violated the patient’s privacy. If contact information for the patient could not be obtained via other means (e.g., previous hospital records, the telephone directory, or electronic searches), the nurse could have contacted the patient’s father without revealing that he had been treated at the hospital and simply said she was trying to reach him.
Editor’s note: Mary D. Brandt, MBA, RHIA, CHE, CHPS, answered this question. This is not legal advice. Consult your attorney regarding legal matters.
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