[rlalex63]

We have an EMS personnel who after 2 months, gave a patients family false information a violation.

[JudyKayTee]

Violation of what? HIPAA? Something else?

What is your connection with the problem?

[rlalex63]

Is this a violation of HIPAA ?

[ScottGem]

Why don't you explain the circumstances instead of posting cryptic questions. The more you tell use, the better we can answer and help you.

[rlalex63]

An EMS personnel was asked to come to a private department meeting at our volunteer ambulance service. After being asked to attend the meeting to air out problems with this person, they then went to a daughter of the elderly lady that she does patient care for and told the daughter about our closed door meeting conversation and the proceeded to tell the daughter that when we took her mother to the hospital on an emergency 2 months prior to this meeting, that someone said at the meeting that we told her that the emergency call for this lady was not an emergency. The EMS personnel then proceeded to have this lady (daughter), call and complain about saying it was not an emergency, to our Board of Directors. The statement of "This was not an emergency", was never once said at this closed door meeting. The EMT then proceeded to tell the body of ambulance members that there was a loud confrontation in this patients driveway, which is also false information.
The same EMT personnel was arguing with the ambulance chief after a call that he had been on, with loud and vulgar language outside the doors of the ambulance service, when there was an aging group there having their monthly get together.
Please help us in finding something on these issues. Is or are either of these a HIPAA violation? Misconduct?
Thank you for your help

[ScottGem]

Doesn't appear to be a hipaa violation, but its clearly misconduct and should be grounds for dismissal.

[Fr_Chuck]

Not a violation. Obvious other issues since they had to have a "closed door meeting" which may even be violation depending on the subject of the meeting depending on how the non profit agency is set up.

Why they were investigating is one issue, But unless he had agreed not to disclose items from the meetings I am not sure he is not allowed to.

It is the lying that he can not do. Where minutes keep at the meeting,

[JudyKayTee]

I find that hard to follow but I see no HIPAA violation. I do see some problems with ethics.

Are the EMS hospital personnel, volunteers, a separate ambulance company, something else?

[AK lawyer]

I find that hard to follow but I see no HIPAA violation. ...

I agree:

• hard to follow.
• no HIPAA violation (probably).

The EMS person ("Personnel" would be plural; it appears OP is talking about only one person.) responded to the ambulance call, evidently. He or she is probably subject to HIPAA I suppose, but I don't see that he/she told the daughter any protected information. What he/she told the daughter appears to be limited to what was said at the closed-door meeting and about a "loud confrontation" at the time of the ambulance call. No HIPAA-protected information was shared, that I can see.

[rlalex63]

An EMS personnel was asked to come to a private department meeting at our volunteer ambulance service. After being asked to attend the meeting to air out problems with this person, they then went to a daughter of the elderly lady that she does patient care for and told the daughter about our closed door meeting conversation and the proceeded to tell the daughter that when we took her mother to the hospital on an emergency 2 months prior to this meeting, that someone said at the meeting that we told her that the emergency call for this lady was not an emergency. The EMS personnel then proceeded to have this lady (daughter), call and complain about saying it was not an emergency, to our Board of Directors. The statement of "This was not an emergency", was never once said at this closed door meeting. The EMT then proceeded to tell the body of ambulance members that there was a loud confrontation in this patients driveway, which is also false information.
The same EMT personnel was arguing with the ambulance chief after a call that he had been on, with loud and vulgar language outside the doors of the ambulance service, when there was an aging group there having their monthly get together.
Please help us in finding something on these issues. Is or are either of these a HIPAA violation? Misconduct?
Thank you for your help

[ScottGem]

Repeating the same question is not going to get a different answer. Based on what you have said, its not a HIPAA violation but does appear to be misconduct.

Also, please don't start new threads with the same question. I've merged your threads for you.

[ebaines]

There may be a HIPAA issue here, but it's hard to tell from your story. If the EMS told the elderly lady's daughter about taking the lady to the hospital that could be a violation (unless the lady had authorized her medical info to be shared with her daughter). Also if the ambulance crew discussed this case in a meeting that could be a violation, unless all the people in that meeting had a need to know about the lady's case in order to further her care, or she signed an appropriate release authorizing discussion among all EMTs.

The other issues seem to be one of mistrust - who said what to whom, etc. Not HIPAA or legal concerns, but if the person is not working well with the organization management may want to stop using her services. Be careful how this is handled, because in volunteer organizations things can get really nasty on a personal level. I would suggest that the president of the organization would be the one to have the meeting with the EMS volunteer in question.

[JudyKayTee]

Of course in order for this to be a violation the woman would have had to mentioned by name - and I've attended these meetings, interviewed the emergency works. Oftentimes "they" speak in generalities, well aware of HIPAA.

I'm not sure who is complaining - a co worker, the daughter, the patient, someone else.