[aniqagill]

I work with walgreens pharmacy for 6 years.a week ago I forgot to put the confidential information bag inside the confidential locked in in hurry to help th patients waiting outside the pharmacy.the next day the store manager took pictures of the bag which was not transparent at all and send to the hr dept.after a week later loss and prevention came to the pharmacy where I work as a pharmacy tech.and suspended me for that.all confidential information was saved and there was no exposure of the information to any one and I believe that the company has been very harsh and wrongful in my case.I have an interview with the hr dept tomorrow and I am wondering that they should not fire me for that and I need advice in my matter please.

[ScottGem]

First, its not a good idea to piggyback your question on another thread. To avoid confusion your question has been moved to its own thread.

If I understand you, there is a confidential info bag in the store BEHIND the pharmacy counter. While you did put records into that bag, you neglected to secure it in some way. Do I have it correct?

Companies are very sensitive to HIPAA violations, but I agree this appears to be an overreaction. On the other hand, most states are at will employment. Which means they can fire you for almost any reason except discrimination. So if they do fire you, you have little recourse.

I would take the position with HR, that you have not had any previous issues, that you understand your mistake and will not repeat it. But that you feel , since no patient info, was really exposed, that the punishment is not in keeping with the nature of the violation.

[ballengerb1]

Follow Scott's advice. This is not a HIPAA violation but they may take the stand that you left them open to a potential violation.

[ScottGem]

Actually it probably was a HIPAA violation. Apparently they have a specific policy for handling patient records to comply with HIPAA. It appears the OP did not follow that policy completely. While no patient privacy was compromised, it can still be considered a HIPPA violation.

[ballengerb1]

"While no patient privacy was compromised, it can still be considered a HIPPA violation." Can you give us a link to this part of the law? HIPAA does require a covered entity to provide proper training for staff regarding security. That same rule also says the entity must have appropriate sanctions for staff who break security. If this entity does have sanctions in place then no HIPAA violation will be found.

[ScottGem]

But the OP is not being charged with a HIPAA violation, she is being charged with not following company procedures that were put in place to comply with HIPAA. The company will not report her to HIPAA since it reflect poorly on them. But since the procedures were put in place to comply with HIPAA and not following those procedures could have resulted in a complaint to HIPAA, the pharmacy could refer to HIPAA in terms of the violation of procedure.

[ballengerb1]

Yes, I understand but the OP's initial question title was "Written up for HIPAA violation " She is still in hot water but it is for violating company policy not HIPAA. That is what I said in my first post and why she should follow your advice.

[steelergrl17]

She was written up because she could cause a "Willful Neglect" violation under HIPAA and HITECH. Those violations are for any healthcare entity that has policies and procedures in place and someone knowing violates the procedures. These incidents are now required to be investigated by the State's Attorney's General and have mandatory fines. Luckily, it was caught within the store and no customer information was in danger outside of the pharmacy. I hope she doesn't lose her job but, wouldn't be surprised if the HR Department doesn't drop the hammer on her. It's a very serious matter for her and the company as a whole.