when an aide is told by the head D.O.N to bring another patient from room to room while changing other residents,due to the facility not wanting to provide additional help while the aides are getting the other residents ready for breakfast is this a HIPPA violation? Also there are two residents in a room together and there are no privacy curtains between the both of them,isn't this also a hippa violation? When one is being changed the other one is watching.

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Originally Posted by Toshiba Howard

when an aide is told by the head D.O.N to bring another patient from room to room while changing other residents,due to the facility not wanting to provide additional help while the aides are getting the other residents ready for breakfast is this a HIPPA violation? Also there are two residents in a room together and there are no privacy curtains between the both of them,isn't this also a hippa violation? When one is being changed the other one is watching.

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Why is someone not being able to afford a private room a HIPAA violation? THere are MANY rooms that have two or more patients in them due to cost reasons. What does being changed and priovacy curtains have to so with HIPAA rules?

HIPAA has to do with Patient medical records.

Here is a link to a summary that explains them so you can understand it better.

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa...acysummary.pdf

It appears, there is no Health information being given out, to another person.

In nursing homes, many things are done in a group setting, such as giving out medication and more. I would also look close at the paper work signed, which often includes many types of waivers, in the wording.

I because of my work as a pastor, visited many nursing homes. And what you describe is not uncommon.

The issue of no curtain, may be a medical violation but not one in regards to HIPAA

Regardless of federal laws, state regulations, or policies of nursing facilities, please keep this in mind: we are in extremely tough times financially paying for elder care, and it's only getting worse as baby boomers retire at the rate of 10,000 day (I'm one), PLUS we are living longer and longer. It isn't easy to just get extra aides for specific times of day. If 2 people are lacking privacy while being changed (I for one could care less who sees me naked at my age), they aren't suffering in any meaningful way. A DON has a lot of decisions to make to try to save personnel and keep logistics smooth, for more important things regarding health and comfort. Try to sort out really egregious violations from petty ones.

What is your concern here? As noted, HIPAA dies not govern patient privacy in institutions. It regulates the privacy of medical records. So it doesn't apply here at all.