Is this an example of HIPAA violation?

[aegistitan]

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I was wondering whether or not I would be able to say the following statement:

"I ran into your brother-in-law while volunteering at a hospital in [insert town here]"

The brother-in-law is not a patient at the hospital. However, the brother-in-law's wife was a patient of the hospital, but the wife (patient) never comes up in conversation/is not mentioned whatsoever.

 

[DokterMom]

If the brother-in-law is not a patient and you are not a doctor, I can't see how HIPPA could possibly even apply?
Could sound a bit gossipy, but that would depend entirely on the story.

 

[Ismet]

If the guy wasn't a patient, it's not a HIPAA violation. If the guy were a patient, it would be a HIPAA violation.

 

[PreciousHamburgers]

Was he with a patient? Is the person's partner known to have a medical condition? Just be cautious and use common sense.

 

[cheetoh]

How is this considered a HIPAA violation?

The facilities in my area have a very precise nomenclature for how you can define a patient and their information. Secured/restricted/permitted/limited - for instance, in reference to information about the patient. If a patient chooses for information about his visit to be permitted to be released, how is this still a violation?

 

[PreciousHamburgers]

How is this considered a HIPAA violation?

The facilities in my area have a very precise nomenclature for how you can define a patient and their information. Secured/restricted/permitted/limited - for instance, in reference to information about the patient. If a patient chooses for information about his visit to be permitted to be released, how is this still a violation?

Sometimes the official definition is irrelevant. Do you want to get into an argument about definitions when a person claims their privacy was violated? Best to avoid it all together.

 

[aegistitan]

I forgot to mention, what if the brother-in-law's wife was a patient of the hospital, but the wife (patient) never comes up in conversation/is not mentioned whatsoever?

 

[Ismet]

I forgot to mention, what if the brother-in-law's wife was a patient of the hospital, but the wife (patient) never comes up in conversation/is not mentioned whatsoever?

The person's brother-in-law's wife is the person's sister (or I guess the wife of the brother of the person's spouse...). Regardless of HIPAA, if the patient wanted her sister to know she was in the hospital, she would share that information. That is not your information to share and is essentially pointless gossip. Since the BIL is at the hospital because his wife is a patient there, sharing that information could be determined to be a violation of privacy and HIPAA.

Like Vegas, "what happens at the hospital, stays at the hospital." It's a good rule of thumb to follow if you want to avoid potential privacy violations. Not saying that talking about the hospital/what goes on there is completely taboo, but it's better to be on the safe side in situations where you're not sure of privacy policy.

 

[areserine]

I think the only time this couldn't possibly raise questions is if the person worked there. "I saw your BIL while I was at his place of work" is very different than "I saw your BIL at the hospital but I can't tell you why because that would be an invasion of privacy."

 

[LizzyM]

You obtained the information directly from the guy and it was not in any way related to the provision of medical care. It is not a HIPAA violation. However, you should want to tread lightly with regard to people's privacy.
You could as easily say, "I ran into your brother-in- law last week. He told me... "and on with the conversation leaving out the whole part about the hospital or even the name of the town. If someone's sister-in-law or sister is in the hospital, it is going to be pretty common knowledge anyway within the family once old Aunt Nosy gets hold of the information. 😉

 

[Annabell Lee]

There is really no need to bring up this information, so why risk it? LizzyM gave some good advice, if you really need to discuss something, just don't mention the hospital part.

Honestly, if you add the hospital part, the first question out of their mouth is probably going to be about why he was in the hospital. If the wife has a medical condition that frequently results in hospital visits, then he could probably guess that she was at your hospital within a certain time frame, so in a way you are risking violating a person's privacy.

Also, something that bothers me about a lot of the threads on here: just because something doesn't technically violate HIPAA, it doesn't mean it's ethical, and it doesn't mean you may not face consequences for the action. Most hospitals don't let anyone get too close to that line. Employees are disciplined for things that don't quite violate HIPAA all the time. If something might make it look like you might have violated HIPAA, don't do it.

 

[Ismet]

Also, something that bothers me about a lot of the threads on here: just because something doesn't technically violate HIPAA, it doesn't mean it's ethical, and it doesn't mean you may not face consequences for the action. Most hospitals don't let anyone get too close to that line. Employees are disciplined for things that don't quite violate HIPAA all the time. If something might make it look like you might have violated HIPAA, don't do it.

Agreed. Professionalism/ethics is huge, even if it doesn't technically violate HIPAA or other policies. Anyone see the NY Med episode last night? An ED nurse was fired for posting a picture of an empty trauma room (post-trauma of a guy who was hit by a subway train, so it was a mess) on Instagram. There was no HIPAA violation as far as I know, but it was certainly inappropriate and insensitive.