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Hipaa violation or no hippa violation?

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SmiLinEyes

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

Tennessee

I have a co-worker that I have known for several years as well as her husband. They were going through a divorce & his cousin was in my lab where I worked as a PBT & I drew her labs. My co-worker stated to me that she was going to divorce court the next day, and I stated to her..."Shane's(the husband) cousin was in the lab today asking questions, but I told her I didn't know anything about anything. My co-worker replied with "Oh, Shane's family & I are good with each other". Did I violate the HIPAA law with what I said to my co-worker?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


lya

Senior Member
Yes; you violated HIPAA. You revealed protected information for reasons not directly related to the function of your job or as allowed on a "need to know basis". This, of course, only applies if your employer/facility is a covered entity, which I am inclined to believe it is.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
If you had simply said that you SAW this person, without saying WHERE you saw her, and only mentioning anything you talked about that was unrelated to the reason she came to the lab, that would not be a violation.
 

Medic334

Junior Member
Telling someone that you saw another person in the lab is NOT a HIPPA violation. Now if you told this same individual that "Oh yeah I drew her labs and she came back positive for drugs"...then that would be a HIPPA violation.

Your remark is tantamount to me saying that I saw someone in the ER in the normal course of my work related duty.

As long as you did not reveal specific information about a patient or person that you are privy to, then I don't believe there was any HIPPA violation on your part.
 

lealea1005

Senior Member
Telling someone that you saw another person in the lab is NOT a HIPPA violation.
Not true. Please refer back to Lya's answer. She was correct.

ETA:
Your remark is tantamount to me saying that I saw someone in the ER in the normal course of my work related duty.
Which is also a HIPAA violation.

As long as you did not reveal specific information about a patient or person that you are privy to, then I don't believe there was any HIPPA violation on your part.
I really think it may be time for a little retraining for you, medic334.
 
Last edited:

>Charlotte<

Lurker
cyjeff- Excuse me....that was a TYPO.
The exact same "typo" three times in the same post?

I'm not being the spelling police here, I'm just cautioning the OP to be wary of anyone giving advice re: HIPAA when they don't even know the correct acronym.
 

Medic334

Junior Member
The exact same "typo" three times in the same post?

I'm not being the spelling police here, I'm just cautioning the OP to be wary of anyone giving advice re: HIPAA when they don't even know the correct acronym.
Excuse me Charlotte if I was in a hurry while typing my response. With your response it would seem that YOU are making an attempt to be the "spelling police" as you said. However you are correct the acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is HIPAA. I apologize for using the wrong acronym.
 

Medic334

Junior Member
The exact same "typo" three times in the same post?

I'm not being the spelling police here, I'm just cautioning the OP to be wary of anyone giving advice re: HIPAA when they don't even know the correct acronym.
Excuse me Charlotte if I was in a hurry while typing my response. With your response it would seem that YOU are making an attempt to be the "spelling police" as you said. However you are correct the acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is HIPAA. I apologize for using the wrong acronym.

Secondly after speaking with our agency's legal department regarding this matter, I was informed that unless your speaking specifically about a patient and or that patient's condition to someone other than a healthcare provider involved in the patient's care, no violation has occured.

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services,The Privacy Rule provides federal protections for personal health information held by covered entities and gives patients an array of rights with respect to that information. At the same time, the Privacy Rule is balanced so that it permits the disclosure of personal health information needed for patient care and other important purposes.

As for my "retraining" as you stated, I train constantly as it is required by law in my state. Also I wasn't offering advice as you put it, but merely offering my opinion as to the OP question.
 

>Charlotte<

Lurker
As for my "retraining" as you stated, I train constantly as it is required by law in my state. Also I wasn't offering advice as you put it, but merely offering my opinion as to the OP question.
I specifically stated I was not trying to be anyone's "spelling police", nor did I say anything about training. I just pointed out that anyone with any useful knowledge to offer should know the basics. Then when you tried to blow it off with "it was just a typo" instead of an honest mea culpa, it seemed you were just talking out of your ass. The OP doesn't know who to believe, and it warranted a cautionary note. If you do have applicable experience, by all means, please continue without further comment from me.
 

lealea1005

Senior Member
Secondly after speaking with our agency's legal department regarding this matter, I was informed that unless your speaking specifically about a patient and or that patient's condition to someone other than a healthcare provider involved in the patient's care, no violation has occured.
They are wrong. As mentioned earlier...the fact that the person was in the lab receiving services is PHI.

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services,The Privacy Rule provides federal protections for personal health information held by covered entities and gives patients an array of rights with respect to that information. At the same time, the Privacy Rule is balanced so that it permits the disclosure of personal health information needed for patient care and other important purposes.
Exactly. Gossiping with one patient about another patient who was receiving services at your lab is neither important, nor directly related to that patient's care. It is a violation.

As for my "retraining" as you stated, I train constantly as it is required by law in my state. Also I wasn't offering advice as you put it, but merely offering my opinion as to the OP question.
I'm the one who suggested retraining, and I stand by that suggestion.

Your post certainly did not come across as an "opinion" only.
 

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