So, let’s be honest! We all know the basics of HIPAA violations: don’t share patients’ information, don’t post anything online, always log off your computer, and so on. However, here’s the twist: as a nurse, you might be violating HIPAA laws without even realizing it. So, before you accidentally put your license, job, and facility at risk, let’s go through some surprising HIPAA violations examples that you might be making.
Examples of HIPAA violations you might be making without realizing it
Talking about patients in public areas
Nurses should be very careful while talking about the patients and their condition to the other nurses. It seems easy to debrief the case to the other nurse in the hallway, but there is a chance that someone might overhear it. Nurses should always avoid places like the cafeteria, hallways, breakroom, or hospital lobby.
Posting an innocent post on social media
We love Instagram and Snapchat and would love to share our stories and snaps to tell our friends and family how our day went. But posting innocent stories about a shift can also count as a violation of HIPAA, even if you are not sharing the personal information of the patient. Sometimes posting a picture of a nurse’s station intentionally or talking about a unique case online can breach patients’ privacy.
Leaving charts unattended and leaving screens unlocked
You are busy, and u think leaving patient charts for a few minutes outside unattended will not cause any harm- well, think again. This is another example of a HIPAA violation. Anybody passing a hall could see the charts with personal and sensitive patient information. The same goes for the screens, so make sure to log off before you leave.
Throwing away papers (PHI) of patients without proper disposal
Another HIPAA violation is throwing away the sensitive information of patients in regular bins without shredding it. Anyone can retrieve the sensitive information of the patient from these bins; therefore, the right way is to shred them and then discard them.
Discussing patients with someone who is not involved in care
When we come home from work, it is natural that we want to talk about our day with friends and family. Nurses spend their time with patients, and it is possible that their conversation might include details about their patients; therefore, it is important for nurses to be careful while discussing things related to patients because they might be violating HIPAA laws without even realizing it. It is also important for nurses to only discuss their patients and cases with someone who is part of the care team and not an outsider, for example, discussing a patient’s case with a healthcare team member from another floor.
Not reporting if you made a mistake
Nurses are humans too, and humans make mistakes, but doing the right thing after making a mistake is what really matters. Nurses should always report if they made any mistake, for example, sending an email to the wrong person or leaving the screen unlocked. Even small breaches should be reported, and if you fail to do so, then you are violating HIPAA laws.
What are some examples of HIPAA breaches?
Some of the examples of HIPAA breaches are as follows:
- Accessing patient records out of curiosity
- Failing to secure PHI with physical security if the device is lost or stolen.
- Disposing of patient records in the regular bin without shredding them.
- Sharing patient information with an unauthorized person.
- Sending an email to the wrong person and not reporting it.
Conclusion
HIPAA violations happen when we are unaware or distracted. Nurses should always be careful about discussing their patients. They should only share the information with the healthcare team members who provide care to the patient and not with an outsider. Sometimes nurses might be violating HIPAA without even realizing it, and therefore, nurses must always be careful. Such as locking their screens, discarding papers (PHI) properly by shredding them, not discussing patients’ cases in public, reporting immediately if they make a mistake, and so on.
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