Q&A: HIPAA and discarded PHI found on-site
HIM Connection, September 6, 2011
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Q: As a hospital employee, I found a patient wristband on the sidewalk outside the emergency department. Apparently, a patient removed the wristband and discarded it. I retrieved it and disposed of it in a trash receptacle. Later, I questioned whether I should have shredded the armband because it contained PHI. The patient appeared not to care about his PHI, as evidenced by his method of discarding the wristband. Was discarding it in a trash receptacle without shredding it permissible?
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