The emergency department nurse manager observes one of his staff nurses reading the admission history of a client being admitted to the psychiatric unit after an overdose

Question

The staff nurse was not assigned to nor involved in the client's care while the client was treated in the emergency department. The nurse manager knows that under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations: a. this is a violation of the client's privacy
b. the staff nurse has legal access to the record under the emergency care provisions
c. any health care provider working at the facility has legal access to any client's record
d. the nurse may read the record, but may not divulge its contents to anyone else

Answer 1

A
The nurse manager knows that under HIPAA regulations, it is a violation of the client's privacy for a staff member to read the records, if the staff member is not involved with the care of the client. Conversely, HIPAA does not prevent sharing clinical information with persons who are providing care to an individual and have a clear "need to know" about the client.