HIPPA VIOLATION ?!?!

[Dave2345]

It

So I guess the biggest question for the OP is who posted it on social media, was it an approved posting by the agency in question, and why do they think it was a HIPAA violation?

was sent in to ghettomedic for a funny call all PT adress was accidentally left on the screen a small spot that was missed

 

[akflightmedic]

Oh well then...that makes it ok then as we absolutely should share every funny call on every social media format possible. I mean how else will people know how professional we are??!!

 

[Uclabruin103]

Social media will be the end of the human race. Why does everyone have to share everything. Who cares! At least have the Maturity to refrain from posting at work. Why risk your career. Last rant, I promise, was last minute shopping and if people aren't sharing on social media, they're talking about social media. FML.

 

[Operations Guy]

When the machines become self aware I hope they take out the Kardashians first lol.

 

[Bullets]

Is an address protected? Anyone could go to radio shack and get a $20 scanner and listen and hear the addresses and such.

 

[NomadicMedic]

Is an address protected? Anyone could go to radio shack and get a $20 scanner and listen and hear the addresses and such.

If you're an agency that produces electronic medical records it is.

If I'm joe public, I can listen to my scanner or scanner app on my phone and Facebook post "there is a cardiac arrest at 1234 Main Street". I have no interest in this patient, nor am I involved in any patient care. It may be tacky, but at that point it's public information.

If I'm joe paramedic and I post "there's a cardiac arrest at 1234 Main Street" it may or may not be a HIPAA violation depending on where I got the information. But it's in poor form and, if the department has a social media policy, probably violates that policy.

If I'm joe paramedic and I post "I just ran a cardiac arrest at 1234 Main Street" it certainly fits the criteria to be a HIPAA violation.

 

[WolfmanHarris]

Remember "not being a HIPPAA violation" is not the same as being a good idea, professional or keeping with employer policy. Nor does it affect how it might be viewed by the public if taken out of context.

I maintain a Twitter account that I use predominantly for professional purposes. If and when I post from work (as we are actually encouraged to do to an extent) my tweets include no operational information and nothing that would put my service into disrepute. Social media IS public, so if you wouldn't say it to the media or slap it on a billboard...

 

[DrParasite]

If you're an agency that produces electronic medical records it is.

my county dispatch center posts every EMS run on a twitter feed.

 

[NomadicMedic]

is the dispatch center generating patient care reports?

 

[Never2Old]

Violations of HIPAA regulations regarding identifiable PHI (patient health information) come into play if you are a 'Covered Entity', or even a 'Business Associate' of a covered entity such as a third party biller or a QA service. But generally HIPAA violations are not where your greatest risk is regarding social media and other forms of on-line discussions.

The greatest risk is losing your job, being sued by the patient or having your department fined due to violation of state or local privacy laws. Posting a photo, or other information that violates someones expectation of privacy will generally result in way more problems than a HIPAA violation at the end of the day.

 

[NomadicMedic]

Very true. A HIPAA violation may result in a very small fine (< $500) for the agency, but not the individual who violated the rule. A far greater liability is in a civil case where the individual, along with the agency, may be named in a suit claiming damages from a release of PHI. Of course, losing your job for posting privileged information is a risk as well.

However, as we've said, HIPAA has become the convenient catch all for anything and everything related to privacy in Healthcare. It's simply best, as an EMS provider, to NOT share any information OUT from your agency unless it's directly involved in the chain of care.