You know all nursing jobs arent created (or paid!) While all HIPAA violations can potentially result in disciplinary action, most employers would accept that accidental violations are bound to occur from time to time. However, she concedes the posting might have upset someone not familiar with the morbid exchanges that can occur in the emergency room. Marian Weber, a travel nurse in Alaska, said the not-for-profit PeaceHealth rescinded her contract after she raised a concern about patient safety. Receive weekly HIPAA news directly via email, HIPAA News She moved to New York and made something of herself. He is a specialist on healthcare industry legal and regulatory affairs, and has several years of experience writing about HIPAA and other related legal topics. Four days after the nurse was suspended the decision was taken to fire her for the HIPAA violation. However, although the HIPAA violations might not be recognized as such within the nursing unit, a nurse can still be held responsible for a violation albeit an unintentional violation that results from an unofficial working practice. What are your staff posting on social media? Over the last several years, the world has witnessed the explosion of social media and other electronic communication like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Top Cheap and Fast Online RN to BSN Programs, Affordable Online Nurse Practitioner Programs, Top Direct-Entry Nurse Practitioner Programs, Top Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Programs, Top Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Programs, Top Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Programs, Top Online Family Nurse Practitioner Programs, Top RN to Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Programs, Top Womens Health Nurse Practitioner Programs, How to Get an Associate Degree in Nursing. learn from my mistake.. A second photo posted by Samuels showed the newborn again and had a hashtag citing the childs birth defect: gastroschisis, where a babys intestines are found outside of the body, exiting through a hole beside the belly button. It was poor choice for Katie to post this particular social update. I have a whole file for training. $("#wpforms-form-28602 .wpforms-submit-container").appendTo(".submit-placement"); What happens when a nurse breaches confidentiality depends on the nature of the breach and the reason for it. HIPAA Journal provides the most comprehensive coverage of HIPAA news anywhere online, in addition to independent advice about HIPAA compliance and the best practices to adopt to avoid data breaches, HIPAA violations and regulatory fines. For example, some perceived breaches in client confidentiality are permitted by the HIPAA Privacy Rule and by state privacy laws. What I do know is that she made a choice and has experienced the consequences of that choice. This story has been shared 679,840 times. I got a call at the end of my shift telling me I was being let go after seven years in the ER, Duke told ABC News. Reader Offer: Free Annual HIPAA Risk Assessment, Video: Why HIPAA Compliance is Important for Healthcare Professionals. She was swimming in muddy waters. I just wished she used this opportunity to talk about how to use social media appropriately. Patient Abuse or Poor Professional Conduct 2. Its not clear if the company fired the nurses as a direct result of the video. Copyright 2014-2023 HIPAA Journal. Give the world a positive impression of your beloved career. that's continuously reviewed to ensure its as relevant and accurate as She is known to be difficult. | The firing of a New York City . possible. Heres how to stay out of hot water when sharing about your career on your favorite social platform. It is a violation of HIPAA to share EMR login credentials because, under the Administrative Safeguards of the Security Rule (45 CFR 164.308), Covered Entities are required to implement procedures that record system activity including who accesses systems containing ePHI and when. There has been considerable publicity surrounding the practice, following the publication of a report on the extent to which this is occurring by ProPublica (Summarized here). "Everybody knows thats not a joke," she told WXII. These rules nurses should use while utilizing social media include: Posting patients by name or providing enough information that patients might be identified can get you in a lot of trouble. If a nurse violates HIPAA on social media, the consequences of the violation depend on the motive behind posting PHI on social media, the content of their employers sanctions policy and what training the nurse has received about impermissible disclosures of PHI. Polish nurse Renata Pizanowska was. All other violations of HIPAA are civil offences subject to an employers sanctions policy or sanctions set by HHS Office for Civil Rights. Officials at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in. It actually filmed her there. They can include patient errors, HIPAA violations, causing undue risk for an employer, and social media mistakes. But she was fired for being insensitive. They say that nursing is a calling, and my mother was called to the field. Your email address will not be published. It seems so many people want to denigrate Katie Duke, from her choice to post the photo being discussed to the measurement of her waistline. Nurse Katie Duke has been featured on two seasons of the reality medical drama, "New York Med. Youll be the first to know about nursing news, trending topics and educational resources. Criminal prosecutions are rare, although theft of PHI for financial gain is likely to result in up to 10 years in jail. I can think of at least two potential HIPAA violations: The fact that this drama all plays out on a reality show where patients and healthcare professionals are filmed does muddy the waters a bit. "No one was ever harmed and I treat all my patients with great care and they all love me.". Regulatory Changes Adam B. Coleman is the author of Black Victim to Black Victor and founder of Wrong Speak Publishing. jQuery( document ).ready(function($) { Yesterday, a nurse employed with Salem Health posted a video on social media which displayed cavalier disregard for the seriousness of this pandemic and her indifference towards physical. Minyvonne Burkeis a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. If a nurse violates HIPAA, a patient cannot sue the nurse for a HIPAA violation. A nurse can be fired for a HIPAA violation if the violation represents gross misconduct, a criminal act, or a repeated violation for which the nurse has previously been warned. I cannot claim to know what was going on in her head when she posted that photo, I can only express my opinion. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. But beyond penalties themselves, remember that you are a representative of your profession. The likely consequence in this scenario is a warning about using social media in the future. If reporting the event to a Privacy Officer, the event will be dealt with internally. Emory Healthcare said in its statement that patients should always feel they are being treated with "care and respect.". Four labor and delivery nurses at an Atlanta hospital came under fire over a TikTok video in which they shared the things that annoy them about expecting mothers and their families. HIPAA Violations 4. Nurses are in the compassion industry, and their decision to record, verbalize and publish their grievances publicly portrays compassionless behavior we should not reward or excuse. If you make a mistake own it, learn from it and teach others not to make the same mistake. Her comments explained how the disease was much worse that she expected it to be, having not encountered anyone with the measles in the past. Due to the information contained in the posts and the rarity of the disease, it is possible that the child could have been identified. Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know about our daily giveaways from shoes to Patagonia gear, FIGS scrubs, cash, and more! Im not a HIPAA expert by any means, but I thought it was more than insensitive IMO it was a HIPAA violation. I also saw Katie on an interview on Inside Edition late in the week she didnt seem to admit any wrongdoing just said I cant believe they fired such a caring person. In the former scenario, the penalty will likely be a warning and refresher training; while, in the latter scenario, this is an act of gross misconduct likely resolved by termination of contract. Subscribe for the latest nursing news, offers, education resources and so much more! OB nurses from Emory got fired for sharing their patient "icks" on social media. I dont like to focus on the negative aspects of social media for nurses, but this Katie Duke is one example is being highly publicized and merits a response. "All my videos are comedy skits. In January, a nursing assistant was fired for sharing videos and photos of abuse of a patient with Alzheimers on Snapchat. Not all of these events qualify as HIPAA violations by nurses (in some cases because the nursing home was not a HIPAA Covered Entity), but they demonstrate the scale of violations that are not often brought to public attention. One Instagram user said the video just showed everyone where NOT to go," while another person said that childbirth is one of the most vulnerable times for a woman. However, as this incident shows, the patient does not need to be mentioned by name in order for them to potentially be identified. Was the HIPAA violation attributable to a lack of knowledge, or was it a malicious act? HIPAA Journal provides the most comprehensive coverage of HIPAA news anywhere online, in addition to independent advice about HIPAA compliance and the best practices to adopt to avoid data breaches, HIPAA violations and regulatory fines. Find all that an more with the FreshRN VIP - Membership. Samuels Instagram profile, which is marked private, identifies her as a mommy and a dry cereal consumer, a professional book reader and a bipolar lover. She has more than 600 followers. Not even nurses who are constantly held on a higher pedestal than others. While the nurse did not post the childs name on Facebook, her job was listed on her profile along with the hospital where she worked, and information about the boy and his condition. Since, she is working at a new facility and being filmed there? Officials at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami first learned of the incident on Sept. 8, Lidia Amoretti, a hospital spokesperson, told NBC News in an email Saturday. Author: Steve Alder is the editor-in-chief of HIPAA Journal. The photo itself tells a story. She explained that it was a rough experience seeing the boy suffering from the disease. ", Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. A nurse has been sacked after sharing a picture of her homemade face mask and speaking out about the conditions she works under amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Hospital officials cited patient privacy as a top priority while saying the blatant breach would be investigated. This really makes me think it was a complete set up. — -- One of the most dramatic scenes so far from the second season of ABCs New York Med had nothing to do with gunshot wounds or heart transplants. In the same way that you should not disclose information about your patients, nurses should take care not to post their personal information. "I am being bullied and harassed online and these people are mad that Im not going out quietly so they are hitting harder. It was the caption, which was very insensitive. She did get a new job at another local ER. Its the caption: Man Vs 6 Train. As if the poor soul who encounter that level of trauma was intentionally playing chicken with an oncoming train. At HIMSS 2017, the former deputy director of health information privacy at the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) explained that OCR plans to issue guidance on HIPAA and social media and what is and is not acceptable. A nurse can be held responsible for a HIPAA violation if the non-compliant event occurs frequently in the nursing unit. Marian Weber says she . We've received your submission. In response to the rightful outrage from social-media users, the Atlanta hospital fired the four nurses over the weekend for, it said, filming a TikTok video that included disrespectful and unprofessional comments about maternity patients at Emory University Hospital Midtown.. Is Katie Duke a good nurse? In addition to civil fines, nurses can also find themselves in trouble in relation to licensure problems. If you are a patient (or family member), the first thing to find out is if the nurses employer is a HIPAA Covered Entity. Had the actions been covered in security and awareness training? Brittney Wilson, BSN, RN, a bachelors-prepared registered nurse, is the founder and owner of The Nerdy Nurse and TheNerdyNurse.com. Unless prior authorization has been received from a patient, in writing, nurses should avoid sharing photographs and videos of patients (or any PHI) on social media sites. At this point, however, I should probably say was a star, since a recent episode revealed that Katie was fired after posting this photo of a trauma room to her popular Instagram account (thekatieduke). We've received your submission. Participating in the TikTok #IckChallenge, four Emory University Hospital Midtown employees recorded a one-minute TikTok video discussing their icks about being nurses who deal primarily with labor and delivery. The nurse was not fired by her employer for a HIPAA violation or break in hospital policy. For example: Should the nurse have known their actions may have resulted in an accidental disclosure of ePHI? The doctor who also works for the hospital was not reprimanded, she said. They all sound like HIPAA violations to me. equally, but do you know which nurses are making the most money in 2023? She was, she said, showing how life and death situations play out every day in the hospital. Oh, I dont recall them elaborating on that during the show. The photo captured a messy but empty trauma room that had been used to treat a man hit by a New York City subway train. Reality TV is never quite reality, and this social media slip might have been a clever move planned by NY Med for major media and nursing coverage, or by Katie herself to further her growing fame. Breach News After Faith Linthicum, RN posted that an unarmed black man shot by police "deserved it," Kaiser Permanente decided to part ways with the nurse. She has rules for how nurses can keep out of trouble while using social media but also using social media effectively and positively. Posting any protected health information on social media websites, even in closed Facebook groups, is a serious HIPAA violation. She has launched social media training programs, nurse travel and excursion, her very own scrub line, and a wildly popular podcast. There is no private cause of action in HIPAA. At this point, most hospitals have a social media policy. The egotistical monsters we complain about exist because weve encouraged these people to incubate in an algorithmically curated narcissism ecosystem. I appreciate that you are looking at the facts of the situation, as you understand them, and addressing them without making the conversation a personal attack. According to the Sacramento Bee, a nurse working in the labor and delivery unit at Kaiser Permanente was fired after posting a comment on Facebook. Check out our list of the top non-bedside nursing careers. However, if the nurse has a long history of accidental HIPAA violations and has been warned previously about their future conduct, the sanction could be a written warning or termination of contract. In some cases, the disclosure may also be reported to law enforcement agencies. Katie Duke states that when she was dismissed from her job of nearly 7 years that she wasnt fired for committing a HIPAA violation or for breaking any hospital policies, but for being insensitive. Those nurses empathized with us until the moment he left this earth and chose to mourn his passing alongside us. Its the unlimited trips to the nursing station for me, said another bemoaning nurse. Your intestines posed to be inside not outside baby! Samuels sickening post read, WSVN reported last month. Nurse Katie Duke was fired from a New York City hospital for sending this photo out on Instagram. It can help nurses to better understand employers HIPAA policies by taking advantage of an onlineHIPAA training course, especially modular courses that can be taken in small sections. Too Many Absences or Tardies 7. We have investigated the situation and taken appropriate actions with the former employees responsible for the video, the company said in an Instagram post. The Nerdy Nurse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking toAmazon.com. Take the 2014 case of an RN in New York City who was fired by her employer for posting a picture on Instagram depicting a chaotic emergency room following the care of a man who was hit by a subway train. 0:34. It is near impossible to fire a nurse from a unionized hospital in New York. BREAKING:U.S. military is tracking another mysterious balloon that flew over parts of Hawaii. I think that if the photo was the only thing posted, without her personal commentary about a real-life tragic event (that she made light of), I think it would have been perceived as harmless and shed still have her job today. There is no best training course on HIPAA for nurses because nurses compliance with HIPAA is subject to their employers HIPAA policies rather than the text of the Administrative Simplification provisions. Can You Get an Associate Degree in Nursing Online? HITECH News (CNN) -- An oncology nurse in Oregon who bragged about flouting COVID-19 restrictions in a TikTok video "is no longer employed with Salem Health," the hospital system confirmed to CNN. Without knowing the answers to these questions, it is impossible to determine who is at fault for the accidental disclosure. If a nurse discloses a patients health information for a purpose not allowed by the Privacy Rule, or discloses more than the minimum necessary for the purpose of the disclosure, this is a violation of the Privacy Rule. In response to the rightful outrage from social-media users, the Atlanta hospital fired the four nurses over the weekend for, it said, filming "a TikTok video that included disrespectful. A nurse in Florida has been fired after posting photos of a baby born with a birth defect on social media, according to hospital officials. Nurses can talk about themselves, the nursing profession, their families, hobbies, and interest, Nurses should aim to uplift the nursing profession in their posts, Become keenly aware of your employers social media policies, Realize that nothing online is ever really anonymous, Never talk about patients or identifiable coworkers, Avoid identifying your employer on your social media profiles, Dont post anything online that you wouldnt say in front of your boss or human resources, Dont post online that you are at work as this could put you and your home at risk, Dont use the employers internet to post on social media sites--just dont post to social media while at work, Dont identify your employer on your personal profiles, Dont do anything you would be embarrassed to say to your mother, your clergy, your boss, or a potential employer, Dont do anything that could degrade or embarrass your profession. Thank you for a more balanced discussion of the situation. It comes as nurses get ready to stage a 28-hour walkout over pay today. Ooooh I saw this episode! Perhaps I can clarify a little. My take on her social media post was not that she was being insensitive but that it was a warning to anyone thinking they could take on or out run a train. Now I check my posts so no one gets offended or thinks I am a cold-hearted person., Emergency Medicine Tweet Chat Today at 1 PM, ET. The HIPAA violation penalties for nurses range from a verbal warning and/or refresher HIPAA training to termination of contract depending on the nature of the violation, the nurses previous history of compliance, the consequences of the violation, and their employers sanctions policy. Abuse of Prescription or Non-Prescription Drugs 6.

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