My employer recently told us that we could not have any contact with anyone who uses our services stating it would be a HIPAA violation. This would include going out to dinner in a social context, attending birthday parties etc. I feel this is a violation of MY civil rights. My understanding of HIPAA is that you cannot discuss personal health information. Can they really tell me who I can and cannot have personal relationships with?

No they can't. As long as you do not provide diagnosis or treatment information about some your employer provides medical care for to a third party without the patient's permission you have not committed any violation of HIPAA. Your employer cannot regulate your social life.

Scott is right. Often the staff from the home health care agency I work for are invited for an open house for someone's signature birthday - say 90th birthday. Some of are are able to stop, give our greetings, leave a card (if we want) and go our way. We are not there to discuss anyone! We are not bringing files and charts with us.

Who is the HIPAA compliance officer in your agency? Find that person and ask him/her. Unless your agency adopts that specific rule (that still does not make it a HIPAA violation), I don't see how you can be restricted. But check -call your human resources department to see if there is a specific standard or rule for employees regarding outside contact with a client/patient/consumer of your company's services.

The directive has come from the HIPAA compliance person. My next call is to HR in our home office in NJ. I also spoke to OCR in Atlanta, their HIPAA division and they also confirmed what everyone else has been saying. It is NOT a HIPAA violation.

First please answer in the boxes, not in comments, few people read the comments, Answer by posting a "answer" to your own question

I will say while not a HIPAA violation a company can make all sorts of rules, official and unofficial, when I used to interview for some jobs, after we got to a certain part before they made the final offer, they may drive me around town and suggest areas I would want to live, they may "recommend" groups that I should belong to, suggest my wife belong to certain social groups.

While of course I did not have to do those things, employees who did not follow those suggestions often found that other parts of their work was considered poor and were not there long.

I can see why your employer would ask you not to socialize with patients. The problem is that if the person using your services says anything about their affliction and you comment on it that could very well be a hippa violation because it is outside the formal working area. It's a touchy area to be in because there are so many oppertunities to violate that could directly affect the company. And yes companies can regulete social activity as some have policy against married couples working together or even try to regulate employee dating.

Some jobs do not end at the time clock.

I would bet that this is a company policy and they threw in the "HIPAA" line.

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Originally Posted by hntrdog

Can my employer keep me from socializing based on HIPAA?

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Hello h:

The short answer is YES. Can they LEGALLY stop you? Maybe - maybe not. That could only be determined if they fired you for doing it, and you filed a lawsuit. I DOUBT you're going to DO that, because I doubt whether you're going to push the envelope and jeopardize your job. If THAT'S so, then they've effectively prevented you from socializing with your customers.

Even if they can't prevent you from doing so based on HIPAA, they certainly can based on their own rules - and they don't need to justify it.

excon