Potential HIPAA violation. Will I be terminated?

[cbg]

Redemption Man, I probably know HIPAA better than you do. I've undergone extensive training on the subject. But the issue presented by the poster is not, did I violate HIPAA. It is, what is my employer going to do.

I say again, no one here knows what the employer is going to do and it's ridiculous to assume that we do. However, we CAN tell the poster, and I did, that the employer may legally fire her for a suspected HIPAA violation, with or without proof that a violation took place. There is no possible way for me, or you, or anyone here to be able to say, Yes, the employer is going to fire you or No, the employer is not going to fire you. It is possible for us to say, the employer may fire you, and if he does it will be legal.

I have done so. The poster's questions have been answered to the best of the ability of a message board. If she wants anything more definite than that, I suggest Zuileka, when and if she ever returns.

Have a good day.

 

[RedemptionMan]

Speaking of nonsense! The poster says "Will I be fired?" and the response is, we don't know, no one can predict this, but if they do decide to fire you, they certainly can, due to at-will employment. Uh, yes, I'd say cbg has "even heard of HIPAA" a time or two. This whole employment issue has very little to do with whether or not the patient's family is going to sue the hospital because they "care nothing for the nurses" or "people with zero insurance get better care" or some such garbage as that.

The employer may have just been looking for an excuse to fire this particular employee, and may use this as an excuse, whether or not they are being sued by the patient or family, or whether or not there was an actual documented incident of HIPAA violation. There is no mention that this is happening. The poster wants to know if she can be fired for the alleged violation, and the answer is oh yes, she can.

All this mess you post about how the patient would have to sue the hospital (....before the OP could be fired? I think not!) and you'd contact your attorney (which you apparently have on retainer) and "find out if the administration is in on this and who is leading the investigation...." blah blah blah. What are you going to do that for? You won't have any legal reason to go after them, even if you do go to all the time and trouble and mess of hiring an attorney to tell you this. And no, it may not totally destroy the poster's health care career. Based on the proof they have of actual wrongdoing, or lack of it, the poster may be able to get approved for unemployment insurance, but otherwise, that's about it.

again wrong information, from someone who should not be giving any. I have seen Doctors and Nurses (not the ones assigned to the actual patient), fired for just looking at a famous patients records and they never reported those records to any one (facebook, email, etc.). Like it or not it will come down to the Hospital protecting itself from legal action in regards to its decision of termination. Just like all the divorce lawyers chomping at the bits to get same sex marriage on the books so they can get that money from divorces. It all comes down to money in that regards and this nursing student is in a peculiar situation. All the hospitals are interconnected, larger hospitals control most of the healthcare within major cities. It is possible to never work in the healthcare field again from just one violation. Remember the English nurse who killed herself over the queen mother prank call? She would have never worked in her field again. Hence, why this poster needs to make the right decision and contact an actual attorney for advice. I have and know several and they will not charge you for a consultation. It is a sticky situation but the Hospitals well payed administration staff controls adherence to all federal and state regulations in order to avoid legal action against them. They hire and fire doctors and other professional medical staff on a regular basis. They could care less if you are in a union state or not and I do not see how someone could get unemployment compensation for being terminated for breaking a federal legal guideline.

 

[csi7]

In this time of technology, social media posts are the new form of "unwritten" consequences for employment purposes. Those posts can be used to present your lack of respect for privacy, confidentiality, and are effective in decisions made by management.

In my case, a co-worker posted a picture on their personal phone (which was supposed to be in their personal vehicle) of an incident where blood is visible through my jeans leg area as I was performing my work assignment. The photo did not identify me specifically, however, in previous and future threads, a common factor was the picture, and some comments were offensive. The co-worker continued to work.

Either learn from this experience, and know that it can follow you forever, because once posted on the internet, it leaves a word print forever.

To add insult, the former co-worker asked me for a character reference after they were terminated.

Commentator helped me do the unemployment claim, keeping to the facts. I received my unemployment after a hearing was continued.

Legally, a lot of things could happen, however, as stated by everyone, no one knows how management is going to handle this sensitive matter.

 

[Ohiogal]

again wrong information, from someone who should not be giving any. I have seen Doctors and Nurses (not the ones assigned to the actual patient), fired for just looking at a famous patients records and they never reported those records to any one (facebook, email, etc.). Like it or not it will come down to the Hospital protecting itself from legal action in regards to its decision of termination. Just like all the divorce lawyers chomping at the bits to get same sex marriage on the books so they can get that money from divorces. It all comes down to money in that regards and this nursing student is in a peculiar situation. All the hospitals are interconnected, larger hospitals control most of the healthcare within major cities. It is possible to never work in the healthcare field again from just one violation. Remember the English nurse who killed herself over the queen mother prank call? She would have never worked in her field again. Hence, why this poster needs to make the right decision and contact an actual attorney for advice. I have and know several and they will not charge you for a consultation. It is a sticky situation but the Hospitals well payed administration staff controls adherence to all federal and state regulations in order to avoid legal action against them. They hire and fire doctors and other professional medical staff on a regular basis. They could care less if you are in a union state or not and I do not see how someone could get unemployment compensation for being terminated for breaking a federal legal guideline.

There is so much wrong with what you have posted above, it is laughable and I cannot see anyone taking it seriously.

 

[swalsh411]

I do not see how someone could get unemployment compensation for being terminated for breaking a federal legal guideline.

Happens all the time. Maybe you should stick to posting about things you have knowledge of, like pokeman or power rangers.

 

[RedemptionMan]

There is so much wrong with what you have posted above, it is laughable and I cannot see anyone taking it seriously.

I remembered when I joined this site and granted my knowledge is from experience and actual dealings and not fan boy knowledge such as fortune telling or a crystal ball. It is funny how so many people dissing out information on here has had no actual dealings with the law and or legal processions but rather talk out of their heads. I know a lot about the FCRA and HIPAA because I have been involved with them and know the legalities facing them. Certain people coming in here with 3-4 thousand posts on this message forum does not mean squat to me. It is up to the original poster to take the information and whether or not to follow it. I have no agenda in belittling people or making them feel stupid about making mistakes since I will be first to tell you I have made some. So before you laugh at someone providing factual information on your misinformed site, I would suggest you look into the mirror.

 

[RedemptionMan]

Happens all the time. Maybe you should stick to posting about things you have knowledge of, like pokeman or power rangers.

unemployment compensation is not my expertise, sounds like your a knowledgeable expert though.

 

[CSO286]

If you do not know then do not reply, Do you even know what HIPAA is? you made some conversation to fortune telling and at will employment. This person is looking for advice not someone to tell them "oh lawd, your screwed" better get your at will self prepared for termination. The patients are the ones who would have to be offended and bring law suit against the Hospital not you, there are so many rules and regulations that when it comes to healthcare it is really a gray area. So much so that the uninsured, the ones with ZERO insurance actually get better care and stay in better hospitals thanks to your federal grant money going to research University hospitals who bleed money every year, than do most Americans who get some sort of company sponsored programs. At that point, it is take their Social Security checks and most all people have no money these days so they are hoping to catch a major hospital in these type of violations cause they can make hundreds of thousands of dollars if not more. They could care less about the nurse and their 50-70 grand a year, and I have known and heard stories of several nurses who lost their careers from 2-3 violations and the administration just loves it since there are not many careers in America today that pay that well. Again, even if you are student I would try to find out if the administration people are the only ones who know about it and who is actually leading the investigation. Then I would contact my attorney and deny and hide until all the burden of proof is on them. That is of course if you want to keep your nursing career together and not go into another field. Good luck with it but the least you say the better off you are.

They don't have a burden of proof. They can legally fire based on the the suspicion. Or the color of OP shoes. Or how long or short OP wear their hair.
Do you understand at-will employment?

 

[RedemptionMan]

They don't have a burden of proof. They can legally fire based on the the suspicion. Or the color of OP shoes. Or how long or short OP wear their hair.
Do you understand at-will employment?

that is true they can, but they also want to protect themselves from a wrongful termination lawsuit or any other regulation which provides protection to the employee. The less information they receive other than YES/ No answers given by the student/ worker the better off they are. It could come down to a warning or a steps program for self improvement (learning opportunity) but if I was in her shoes then I would not provide them with more information than they need nor would I lie to them. Whatever she decides could be wrong or right depending on the outcome, she alone needs to make the decision on how to approach it and get on with it. This is not going to go away.

 

[>Charlotte<]

They can legally fire based on the the suspicion. Or the color of OP shoes. Or how long or short OP wear their hair.
Do you understand at-will employment?

that is true they can, but they also want to protect themselves from a wrongful termination lawsuit or any other regulation which provides protection to the employee.

That doesn't even make any sense. If the firing is in accordance with the circumstances provided for in at-will employment, there is no wrongful termination. So, why would they want to protect themselves from something that isn't even applicable?

 

[CSO286]

that is true they can, but they also want to protect themselves from a wrongful termination lawsuit or any other regulation which provides protection to the employee. The less information they receive other than YES/ No answers given by the student/ worker the better off they are. It could come down to a warning or a steps program for self improvement (learning opportunity) but if I was in her shoes then I would not provide them with more information than they need nor would I lie to them. Whatever she decides could be wrong or right depending on the outcome, she alone needs to make the decision on how to approach it and get on with it. This is not going to go away.

Where's the wrongful termination?

Do you understand what wrongful termination means?
http://employment.laws.com/wrongful-termination
http://employeeissues.com/wrongful_termination.htm
http://www.wrongfultermination.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=86

 

[cbg]

Please, by all means post a link to the law that you believe would make the termination wrongful.

We'll wait.

 

[CSO286]

Please, by all means post a link to the law that you believe would make the termination wrongful.

We'll wait.

We may even be holding our breath.

So hurry.

 

[Zigner]

We may even be holding our breath.

Don't be silly - you'll die.

 

[RedemptionMan]

you all blew u fast, I mainly was referring to any type of lawsuit relating to the incident in question, whether the employee could claim discrimination, age or whatever in relations to this incident. It was a general statement in regards to retaliation against the employer by the employee. All hospitals have HR departments and they will make the determination. You all are right most states are at will meaning the employee and the employer may sever the relationship with or without cause for any reason. I was referring to anything the employee could lay claim to that applies in a federal protected category which could apply not wrongful termination for breaking a HIPAA law.

american with disabilities act
Age discrimination
fired for filing a complaint against the employer

lots of different things could apply that are secondary to the HIPAA violation.