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    peanut812's Avatar
    peanut812 Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Apr 14, 2008, 06:50 PM
    HIPPA Violation or Power Trip?
    This happened to me today and I am curious to see if this is even a violation or if my supervisor is on a "power trip."

    I work in the OR and someone in my husbands family has been having health problems. We ran into his mom last night and she mentioned that this family member had some procedure done this past weekend. I asked if she knew what part of the hospital it was done in and she said no. So, this morning I was talking to one of the employees on call and she mentioned she was called in a couple times this weekend. I asked what time she got called in (normal call questions). I asked if a certain specialty team was working and she had said that they had worked earlier in the day. Some people in the OR knew that this was a family member of ours that had come in and claimed that I had violated HIPAA by asking the time. I had a verbal warning and had to sign a waiver or something. I don't think that I had disclosed patient information or anything that would give a patient's identity away. So, is this a violation or is this my supervisor on a "power trip" (which actually tends to happen alot).
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
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    #2

    Apr 15, 2008, 05:23 AM
    You actually asked two questions. One regarding the specialty team and the other the time. Family member or not, it could be construed as a violation of confidentiality just the same. Sounds like you have some enemies at work, best to keep a low key I guess.
    Emland's Avatar
    Emland Posts: 2,468, Reputation: 496
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    #3

    Apr 15, 2008, 06:33 AM
    I would think if there were a HIPAA violation, it would be from the person divulging information, not for you asking. Perhaps, you were improper for asking because if the family member wanted you to have the information, I'm sure they would have told you.
    LearningAsIGo's Avatar
    LearningAsIGo Posts: 2,653, Reputation: 350
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    #4

    Apr 18, 2008, 12:41 PM
    I just sat through HIPAA retraining yesterday because an employee was fired for violating it.

    From the sounds of it, you did nothing wrong. You didn't ask for a name and didn't look into his/her records. The questions you asked "could" be related to the person you know but aren't direct enough to be a violation. More importantly, you didn't share the information yourself.
    Basically, it sounds like your coworkers are on edge and sensitive about the chance of accidentally telling you something. HIPAA is a sensitive subject and many people get a bit high-strung about it.
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