Hippa Violation?

[BigCountry87]

Hey guys, I've searched this site and Google but have not been able to find any answers, so I figured I might be able to glean some information from the many people here.

I work for a small non-profit gig in an area that I'd rather not identify here. My co-workers are some of the greatest I've ever had, and saying that there is a family atmosphere amongst us would not be a stretch. The problem is management. Aside from many other issues, the GM has forced employees to divulge patient names after running a major trauma code. Crew members have refused only to be threatened with punitive action. The most recent occurrence was just today. He says it's not a hippa violation because he's the GM and a salaried employee, though refuses to give any specific reason as to why he needs the information. What's worse is that he calls from home and forces it out of us while he's off duty. I'm unsure what to do... aside from look for another employer. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tigger]

First of all it's HIPAA. Secondly, do you bill electronically? Thirdly, are you aware of what your state healthcare privacy laws state?

I agree that it's bad form and possibly a privacy violation for individuals not at all involved in patient care to demand names. But if you're going to fight this battle you need to be well versed in what is you're actually fighting.

 

[Chewy20]

Pretty sure he is allowed to ask if he is a paid employee.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Firstly it's HIPAA not HIPPA.

HIPPA is for companies that bill electronically for services/transports. So if your company doesn't not do that you likely don't have to abide by the requlations (doesn't mean you should still follow them).

Depending what he wants to know and how he goes about getting the information it may be legal or illegal (assuming your company is bound by HIPAA regulations).

 

[Tigger]

Pretty sure he is allowed to ask if he is a paid employee.

If he is not involved in the call in anyway, that might be an issue. But it could be possible to pull a "billing consideration" card considering his role.

 

[chaz90]

I would imagine he is allowed if he is reviewing the PCR for any kind of billing, data gathering, or QA/QI reason. Besides that, this is out of my knowledge base and seems pretty close to legal advice. Good luck!

 

[BigCountry87]

Sorry about the spelling, I always seem to miss that one . I'm pretty sure that we bill electronically as we are all running ePCRs, though I have to admit that it's never been something that I've given much thought to. As for my state's healthcare privacy laws state, I've skim through it several times though I've never been able to find anything pertaining to this specific situation.

Maybe he can state that he's gathering that information for billing, QA/QI, or data gathering, but I don't see how any of that should be relevant to him while he's at a Super Bowl party at home, all while listening to the scanner of course.

 

[BigCountry87]

The last time that it happened to me, the unofficial reason that I received months later was "he knows everybody in town and just wanted to know if it was someone he knew". That was told to me by my Ops manager.

 

[PotatoMedic]

Just tell him you don't remember what the pt's name is and he can look it up when he comes into work.

 

[BigCountry87]

I appreciate the idea, but I'm sure that wouldn't fly with this guy.

 

[Tigger]

I don't remember names of people I meet socially, much less patients. Sounds like your boss is an *** but may unfortunately be covered.

 

[DesertMedic66]

I don't remember names of people I meet socially, much less patients. Sounds like your boss is an *** but may unfortunately be covered.

Same with me. I can tell you a lot of details about a call but ask me to remember a patient's name later in the day and I have no idea.

 

[irishboxer384]

Maybe he's probably trying to make himself seem important while having friends round.

'Who was that on the phone?'
'Oh just my guys telling me about someone hurt/killed in a big car crash no biggie'

 

[JPINFV]

I don't remember names of people I meet socially, much less patients. Sounds like your boss is an *** but may unfortunately be covered.

Patients have names? Strange... I always thought they just went by their room number.

 

[WestMetroMedic]

in theory, he should pull the data from your ePCR system, as it puts his thumbprint on the chart as having accessed it. I can't think of a reason that he wouldn't have access to the system. You can defer to this pathway...

I can access any chart my department has written for the past 8 years (~480,000 runs) with my QA access, and with a little time, date and crew information, finding out a patient name would take me about 5 minutes. It also puts my electronic thumb print into every chart that I look at...

 

[Underoath87]

Just don't answer your phone. Or tell him you forgot. Who remembers patients' names anyway? Especially ones that were unresponsive on arrival...

 

[Handsome Robb]

I'd look for somewhere else to work.

Also, if you tell him no and he acts against you I'm sure that'd be something your state's labor department would like to hear about. Also the OEMS might be interested as well. With that said, like others stated, make damn sure you have ground to stand on, legally, before you do unless you can afford to be unemployed for a while.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

Sounds like this guy is a real DB. I would do as others suggested, tell him you forget the name, or use Jon Doe, or avoid the conversation, while you start looking for another job.