talking about patients in essays

[Bumblenest]

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So I'm used a sentence kind of like this in a few of my secondary essays:

"One patient is a 50-year old Chinese woman called Mrs. Wong with incurable metastatic cancer."

This is the only information I've given about the patient, everything else is personal interactions/responses. The age is made up, and the last name is made up, and I figured that the place I work at (huge cancer center) sees tons of incurable metastatic cancer patients each day so I just left it at that (did not specify type of cancer). Also figured there are so many people with the same Chinese last names so I didn't bother to note anything.

The thing is I never listed anywhere that this information is made up, and I'm kind of paranoid now that I have broken some HIPAA laws or something. I've already sent out a bunch of secondaries with this essay to schools, does this warrant a follow-up explanation letter?

 

[aalamruad]

So I'm used a sentence kind of like this in a few of my secondary essays:

"One patient is a 50-year old Chinese woman called Mrs. Wong with incurable metastatic cancer."

This is the only information I've given about the patient, everything else is personal interactions/responses. The age is made up, and the last name is made up, and I figured that the place I work at (huge cancer center) sees tons of incurable metastatic cancer patients each day so I just left it at that (did not specify type of cancer). Also figured there are so many people with the same Chinese last names so I didn't bother to note anything.

The thing is I never listed anywhere that this information is made up, and I'm kind of paranoid now that I have broken some HIPAA laws or something. I've already sent out a bunch of secondaries with this essay to schools, does this warrant a follow-up explanation letter?

You haven't broken any HIPAA laws, relax.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

You're fine. You haven't disclosed any information that could be used to identify anyone.

 

[Bumblenest]

Thanks guys, probably was just overthinking it

 

[Goro]

Look better?

One patient, "Mrs. Wong" was a 50-year old woman named with metastatic cancer.