Repercussions from hippaa violation

[cakepop90]

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See post below

 

[CobraDoc]

Cakepop,

Accidents happen, if you humbly approach the meeting with sincerity and express a desire to be careful in the future then that will likely be the end of it. You weren't being malevolent or trying to use somebody's personal information, those situations are serious. You made a mistake and dropped an important piece of paper. They will recognize this for what it is.

 

[Law2Doc]

OP, I think you realize that the repercussions could really be anything from a mild scolding to significant career implications. A lot will depend on who found the notes, how explicit the patient info contained in them was, whether patient information was disseminated beyond hospital staff. You will find out soon enough. Good luck.

 

[cakepop90]

OP, I think you realize that the repercussions could really be anything from a mild scolding to significant career implications. A lot will depend on who found the notes, how explicit the patient info contained in them was, whether patient information was disseminated beyond hospital staff. You will find out soon enough. Good luck.

I understand. I guess my question was can I get kicked out of school even if this was an accident?

 

[cakepop90]

.

 

[eefen]

Sounds like it was fairly contained, then. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Don't blow it off, be humble in your meeting, and don't drop your stuff again but I seriously doubt anything more than some form of a slap on the wrist will come of this.

 

[aim-agm]

Calm down. You are never doing yourself a favor by panicking. I think you'll be fine.

This shouldn't jeopardize your graduation if it was contained and accidental (and not grossly negligent). What the privacy officer needs to know is all the details of what happened and that it won't happen again. Think about what you did and, if you did anything wrong, what you should have done (eg. how were the files secured? How should they have been secured?). At the meeting, be sincerely apologetic, accept responsibility for the accident, and don't make excuses. Make sure they know you are aware of HIPAA regulations and their importance, that you will make sure you will not violate regulation in the future, and that you'll be fully cooperative and compliant with however the hospital decides to resolve the matter.

Also, I'm going to suggest that you delete this thread, or at least your comments in it. This situation might get a lot more complicated for the officer/hospital, and potentially a lot worse for you, if its found to be described on a public forum. You have your answers, now protect yourself.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I don't think there's anything anyone here can say to reassure you. The matter really depends on how big of dicks your school/hospital wants to be. Accidents can happen to anyone, and it sounds pretty obvious to me that it was that. If it were me, I'd say "please be more careful." Someone else could act like you shot a patient. Just wait, be honest and see what happens.

 

[cakepop90]

Thank you guys so much for all of your help. Seriously. Best I can do at this point is go in and explain my situation, and hope for the best. Lesson definitely learned.

 

[everythingbutcurling]

Thank you guys so much for all of your help. Seriously. Best I can do at this point is go in and explain my situation, and hope for the best. Lesson definitely learned.

Not trying to exacerbate anxiety but offering another perspective. I doubt you will get kicked out of school, but there are likely to be serious financial consequences to this. Even "accidents" can cost thousands or millions of dollars, but you are likely covered since you're operating through the school and under someone's supervision. I've never heard of a HIPAA violation like that happening WITHOUT a fine.

 

[cakepop90]

Im sure I will hear from my school's honor council. I just cant imagine what sort of trouble I will get in for this :/

 

[Merely]

What was the violation??

 

[aim-agm]

What was the violation??

There was an accidental, contained violation. I advised OP to delete the posts on the off chance the hospital or school sees them, on the assumption they don't like details of such incidents on public forums.

 

[ortho2014]

dont know the details since OP deleted the post but a HIPAA violation of a single patient does not even have to be reported unless it was a gross violation (i.e. looking up a celebrity patient's records)..it has to be on the order of several hundred records for it to be even reported to the media..HIPAA violatons occur on a daily basis, just apologize, say you learned from your mistake and will be extra careful going forward..will get a minor slap on the wrist if it was an accident

 

[HelpPleaseMD]

dont know the details since OP deleted the post but a HIPAA violation of a single patient does not even have to be reported unless it was a gross violation (i.e. looking up a celebrity patient's records)..it has to be on the order of several hundred records for it to be even reported to the media..HIPAA violatons occur on a daily basis, just apologize, say you learned from your mistake and will be extra careful going forward..will get a minor slap on the wrist if it was an accident

>500. you should be ok

 

[ortnakas]

I understand why OP deleted the original description, but can you provide some sort of description of the order of magnitude? Is this a pile of patient files left at Starbucks, or a sticky note with your case presentation outline dropped on the floor?

 

[aim-agm]

I understand why OP deleted the original description, but can you provide some sort of description of the order of magnitude? Is this a pile of patient files left at Starbucks, or a sticky note with your case presentation outline dropped on the floor?

A few files misplaced, recovered before they got out.

 

[cakepop90]

Just wanted to update the thread with what happened. For those wondering what the violation was, it was improper disposal of patient health information (of a couple patients) that was luckily discovered by the hospital security officers before someone else found it. No patient harm came out of this situation. Don't want to give more detail about what happened since you never know who reads these forums.

I'm happy to say I didn't get dismissed, suspended, or put on academic probation for this. I met with the hospital privacy officer who wanted a description of what happened and my activities that day. He said that these things are unfortunately quite common esp amongst students and that luckily it was a contained situation (aka was discovered by hospital personnel and not a third party). He reported it to my university's human resources who forwarded the report to my medical school's head of student affairs. I met with the head of student affairs and she asked me details about the situation, what I learned from the situation, and how I could avoid such violations in the future. As my "punishment", I have to re-do the HIPAA modules. She said that she would also need to file a behavior report about the incident, but it won't be following me around after I graduate the school in a few months. Needless to say, I feel very lucky that the situation was contained and that no patients got harmed as a result of my carelessness. This could have easily escalated into a much worse situation not only for me but also for the hospital, school, and patients involved. HIPAA is seriously no joke and it's easier to violate than a lot of students think it is, even accidentally, and the penalties are incredibly harsh. I was reading forums pretty much the entire week about how people got fired over looking at someone's chart that they shouldn't have even for as short as a minute. Scary stuff.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Not trying to exacerbate anxiety but offering another perspective. I doubt you will get kicked out of school, but there are likely to be serious financial consequences to this. Even "accidents" can cost thousands or millions of dollars, but you are likely covered since you're operating through the school and under someone's supervision. I've never heard of a HIPAA violation like that happening WITHOUT a fine.

I disagree. Patient data was unsecure but not exposed. No permanent harm, no legal negligence

 

[J ROD]

Always remember someone is watching what you click on.