I was recently hospitalized and disclosed the naturre of the visit to a co-worker in confidence. She then related the info to my boss. The day before I was to report back to work, I received a phone call from the head of HR who told me I had to report myself to the state medical board or else he would and that would be a lot worse. He also demanded a letter of competence from my physician instead of the standard excuse. Then I was advised by him that he was putting me on an extended leave of absence without pay until I complied. I checked state regs and there is nothing there pertaining to my situation that demands I report anything and certainly nothing saying I have to sign a release of medical information

First, I'm assuming your boss informed HR and they did not get it from your physician. In that case there is NO HIPAA violation, not even close. YOU volunteered the information to your co-worker. Your co-worker was not providing medical treatment to you. A HIPAA violation occurs when a medical care-giver reveals information about your care without authorization.

Your co-worker may have committed a breach of ethics, but that has nothing to do with HIPAA.

As for the HR person. You didn't tell us what work you do or what the reason for the hospitalization was. But I can well imagine, that the HR person felt this situation impaired your ability to do your job. Moreover, that you may be a danger to your fellow workers (which is probably why the co-worker broke confidence, the co-worker may have had a choice of say nothing and see someone hurt or blow the whistle).

So I can definitely see a situation where the co-worker was justified for breaking confidence and your company was justified in taking the action it did.

You are the one who told someone else of your hospitalization. Sue yourself.

I am a health care worker. My hospitilization was voluntary for depression. Since I have a doctor's excuse, I still don't see how they can put me on extended leave of absence or try to make me report myself to the medical board when there is nothing in the by-laws or regs that say I have to

Unfortunately, this is not a HIPAA violation since you volunteered the info to your co-worker. Had your co-worker gone through your chart, without your permission, then you would have a case. But since you volunteered the info there is no violation.

Now, since it was for depression, there may be policy within your facility that call for an extended leave due to hospitalization, or policy within your facility reporting to the board.

As you know each facility has it's own policies and procedures, and they may be different for every unit/floor, etc.

You need to talk to HR to find out if your facility has these policies in place for your particular condition.

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Originally Posted by CRTTOGO

I am a health care worker. My hospitilization was voluntary for depression. Since I have a doctor's excuse, I still don't see how they can put me on extended leave of absence or try to make me report myself to the medical board when there is nothing in the by-laws or regs that say I have to

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Ask your employer about the policy, ask for copies of whatever documents they relied on. If they are wrong and there is no such policy, then proceed from there. But it still is NOT a HIPAA violation (it's the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA, not HIPPA).