HIPAA… It’s No Laughing Matter
In a recent posting titled "
Kids Say the Darndest Things," I described the relationship I have with my son. We're very close, and I spend as much time as I can with him. I coach his baseball team, and whenever we get a chance, we'll play catch in the front yard or shoot some hoops in the driveway.
The love that a parent has for their child is undeniable. They share in their joy when they hit the winning shot, share in their sorrow when a pet dies, and share in their pain when they're sick. The latter was no more evident than this week when my son came into my hospital for a CAT scan. After a two-month illness of unknown origin, his doctor wanted to rule out certain diagnoses.
Later that afternoon after the CAT scan was complete, I received a phone call from the doctor's office.
"Dr. Fine is requesting a consultation with you in his office" his receptionist said.
"What were the test results" I asked.
"I'm not at liberty to share those with you over the phone sir. The doctor will provide you with the test results on Wednesday."
"I need to speak with him now," I replied.
"I'm sorry sir; he's gone from the office for the rest of the day."
At this point, I was in complete panic mode. I know as a healthcare provider that doctors typically don't call you into their office to tell you everything is fine. I knew something was wrong and I had to find out what.
Because the procedure was performed at my hospital, I knew that the dictated radiology results were in the hospital's HIS system... which I had access to. With tears in my eyes, I sat at my computer knowing that the results were only a mouse-click away. I wanted to so badly but knew that inappropriate access to his medical record was against the law, and that if I were caught, I'd be fired. For more than 20-minutes, I sat at my desk, staring at my computer. I was balancing the pros and cons, and asked myself whether the piece of mind would be worth my job. While every bone in my body wanted to access that information, I needed to be strong. I needed to lead by example.
Just then, I realized that I could still gain access to this information; I just needed to go about it through the right channels. I jumped out of my chair and ran to the radiology department instructing them that I would be in need of the CT results for a follow-up doctor visit. After signing a release form, I had a copy of the scan burned onto a DVD, with dictated results that stated everything was normal and findings were negative.
As I returned to my office to phone my wife and share with her the reassuring news; the phone rang. It was Dr. Fine instructing me that he wanted to put my mind at ease to tell me everything was fine and that he only wanted to meet to discuss alternative treatment options.
While I'm no saint, I'm glad I made the decision I did. Rules are in place for a reason. It would have been unlikely that anyone would have found out I accessed the information that day, but the point is, it's against the law. While I had access to that information, I was not authorized to do so.
What would you do in the same situation? As a manager and caregiver, I'd hope you would have made the same decision as I. As a parent, I'm not about to tell you what what's right or wrong.