HIPAA & Patient Confidentiality Patient confidentiality is a huge issue in healthcare. So big, that in 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in an effort to make the healthcare system more efficient and available for Americans with health insurance. From HIPAA came the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which most people refer to as just plain HIPAA. The privacy rule was needed because of the ever-expanding reach of technology and the ease of transmitting confidential patient information between people and facilities.

Patient confidentiality is one of the first principles aspiring nurses learn upon entering nursing school. Some of the basic rules include: Do not discuss a patient with anyone not directly related to the patient medical care 
 Do not discuss a patient progress with anyone but the patient, without express permission from the patient or the legal guardian 
 Do not tell friends, family, or acquaintances about your patients in any way that they may be identified 
 Do not discuss a patient case, even with a colleague, if you are in an area where the conversation may be overheard (such as on a bus, in the cafeteria, etc.) 
 Do not read a chart or patient information belonging to someone who you are not caring for

The HIPAA Privacy Rule applies to those who work in: Health plans (insurance companies, HMOs, etc) 
 Healthcare providers (anyone who provides any type of medical or health service) 
 Healthcare clearinghouses (such as billing services)\ Protected information may not be shared with anyone who is not directly working with the patient without the patient (or legal guardian) express permission. This includes: Past and present health information (mental or physical) 
 Future physical or mental health information (prognosis)Simple, right? Dont talk to anyone about your patients unless it is appropriate. End of story.

In 2010, some emergency room staff members from St In 2010, some emergency room staff members from St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, CA, took photos of a severely injured stabbing victim in their ER, and posted them on Facebook. Employees at the hospital recognized the photos and reported the incident. While some of those involved were fired, two of the nurses were only disciplined.Over at Tri-City Medical Center, in Oceanside, CA, in June 2010, five nurses were fired for discussing patients on Facebook. This came three years after other nurses were fired from the same facility for taking pictures of a suicidal patient and x-rays.But sometimes, is the privacy rule taken too far? Are healthcare professionals being punished for extreme reasons?For example, on November 10, 2010, nursing student Doyle Byrnes was in a lab class at the Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS examining a placenta. While she and her group were working, they took photos of the placenta and one of Byrnes holding it. According to the students, the teacher was aware that they were taking the photos and did not object.Later that day, the photo was posted on Byrnes� Facebook page. According to the Wall Street Journal, it wasn稚 long after that when she received a phone call from her teacher telling her to remove the photo. The next day, Byrnes was kicked out of the nursing program.

If the violation was to knowingly obtain or disclose identifiable information, you may be fined as much as $50,000 and sentenced up to one year in prison. If the violation involves wrongful conduct and false pretences, the fine may be as much as $100,000 and a prison term of up to five years. Finally, if the violation was done in order to sell or transfer identifiable health information or for malicious intent, the fine may go up to $250,000 and prison time may go as high as 10 years.