HIPAA is one of the most misunderstood laws in healthcare. It isalso one of the most misapplied in hospitals and outpatientclinics. That is likely due to the extreme penalties for violation.$10,000 per incident.
As healthcare providers we must deal with it every day. Asalways, even before HIPAA, we use a practical approach to make surethat everybody that needed to know the condition of our patientknew about it. It just made sense.
You are taking care of your patients on your floor one day. Yourfloor has a combination of patients that are bedridden as well asambulatory. You are using computers that are on mobile carts. Onemorning while rounding with the doctor you are seeing a patient whohas recently been diagnosed with a communicable disease. You havethe patient’s electronic chart opened up on your computer and aremaking notes. Suddenly you and the doctor are called to anotherroom due for a code blue. In the ensuing confusion a patient who isin the hall steps into the wrong room (the one you were just in)and sees your notes that were left on the screen. The patientrealizes it is her neighbor and quickly leaves the room unnoticedbut mentally carrying that piece of information with her.
Questions:
1. Is there a HIPAA violation here? If so, who is in violationand why?
2. Given the above scenario, are you aware of any technologicalsolutions to reduce the possibility of HIPAA violations?
