The nursing student began a case study paper by writing, " J.P., a 65-year-old Asian male, was admitted to the intensive care unit at Southwest Hospital." What is the significance of this statement?

Question

1. It is incomplete, as the date and time of admission should be included.
2. It is a good description of the patient to begin the paper.
3. It is incomplete, as the patient's physician's name should be included.
4. It violates Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations.

Answer 1

4
Rationale: The inclusion of the patient's initials, age, race, and place of admittance potentially makes it possible to identify the patient, which violates HIPAA. Inclusion of additional information such as date and time of admission and physician name only makes it easier to identify the patient. Since information about age, race, and gender is important to the faculty grading the case study, that information should be included. Initials, names, or hospital identification numbers should not be included.