I am a lab tech and discolsed to my wife that our child's day car provider was at my lab during the time she should have been watching our child. I did not disclose what test she was having done or the amount of time she spent there. Unfortunately something went sour and now she has file a complaint with the patient advocate who is now talking about bringing me up on a HIPAA violation. Did I in fact creat one?

This could be considered a violation, but I'm not 100% sure if HIPAA considers it to be one.

In my office, cell phones are prohibited because most have cameras. We are not permitted to tell anyone if a patient has been there no matter what... I'm just not sure if it actually falls under HIPAA or just our moral code as a medical office.

Either way, you shouldn't have shared that information with your wife.

This is an interesting one. Was the day care person aware you worked at the lab? Were you under the impression that the worker was the sole care provider at the day care?

I really don't think this was a HIPAA violation. Since you revealed nothing about her medical care or diagnosis. You simply reported that she was someplace else when she was supposed to be taking care of your child. It really doesn't matter where she was, the key is that she wasn't where you thought she was supposed to be.

As long as you didn't reveal anything about her diagnosis or treatment I don't see a violation. And that's the tact you should take with the patient advocate. I would also point out that you were under the impression she was caring for your child at the time.

Wow. What a predicament! See... this is why we have a judicial system! How else were you supposed to tell your wife you were concerned about her not being with the children? I would think that as long as you just said "I saw her not with the kids while I was at work" then you should be okay. I would love to hear a conclusion to this!

No, this was not a HIPAA violation.

For this to have been a violation, you would have had to have disclosed Protected Health Information. You didn't.

In other words, I can't tell from what you've described, the past, present, or future health status of the individual. That's the HHS standard with respect to Protected Health Information. The fact htat someone was at a lab doesn't tell me anything about their health status.

Lesson learned, though.

Lane Hatcher
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