Justifiable firing?

Gonz

Gonz

molṑn labé
Staff member
Nurses accused of photographing a patient and posting the pictures on the Internet have been fired.

"There were two nurses that independently took a picture each of an X-ray of a patient," Walworth County Undersheriff Kurt Picknell said.

The patient was admitted to the emergency room with an object lodged in his rectum. Police said the nurse explained she and a co-worker snapped photos when they learned it was a sex device. Police said discussion about the incident was posted on her Facebook page, but they haven't found anyone who actually saw the pictures.
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WISN

If the patient wasn't identified, was there a breach of HIPPA?
 
Where is the privacy violation in an anonymous picture of an unidentified "victim". Evvvvvverybody's a victim these days.

The story says not once, but twice, that they took pictures of the patient. Apparently that is not true and they only took a picture of a picture.

The most that I can come up with is that they somehow violated implied copyright by disseminating the picture of the picture; which I am not sure actually has any type of implied copyright.

Nurses accused of photographing a patient ...

... with the allegation that a nurse took pictures of a patient ...
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If the patient wasn't identified, was there a breach of HIPPA?
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As I understand it, possibly yes.

Police said discussion about the incident was posted on her Facebook page, but they haven't found anyone who actually saw the pictures.
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This is the part that may sink them. Even though no names were posted, if the description of the event was close enough to the actual event, then that patient's privacy could have been violated on the grounds that someone they know might recognize the incident.

I could be a bit off on that as I am not a lawyer, but I think anything discussed outside the care area is considered a violation.
 
As you know, probably from first hand work experience, and I know from listening to insurance claims examiners, this is hardly rare.

If you don't want people to know your business, don't make your business known.
 
You're right, its not rare.

Once the hospital fielded the complaint, they didn't have much choice but to fire them. If the hospital did nothing and someone decided to make a case out of it, they would be open for greater liability if they knew and did nothing.

If someone calls the ER inquiring about a patient, according to HIPPA I am not even supposed to acknowledge the person is even there without their express consent. It gets even worse when a patient is transferred and they haven't informed their family. If we don't get permission from the patient prior to transfer, we aren't supposed to tell anyone where they went. Talk about receiving verbal abuse over the phone.
 
jim, this wasn't you was it? ya know, with the thingy in yer butt??? :lol2:

the employee should be fired, no question, for unprofessional conduct, but yarp there's no basis for any civil suit because there is no victim. i'd guess there ain't no HIPPO there either.
 
Dave said:
You're right, its not rare.

Once the hospital fielded the complaint, they didn't have much choice but to fire them. If the hospital did nothing and someone decided to make a case out of it, they would be open for greater liability if they knew and did nothing.

If someone calls the ER inquiring about a patient, according to HIPPA I am not even supposed to acknowledge the person is even there without their express consent. It gets even worse when a patient is transferred and they haven't informed their family. If we don't get permission from the patient prior to transfer, we aren't supposed to tell anyone where they went. Talk about receiving verbal abuse over the phone.
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dude that sucks. i've heard a lot of people complaining about HIPPA but i didn't realize it was that absurd.
 
2minkey said:
jim, this wasn't you was it? ya know, with the thingy in yer butt??? :lol2:

the employee should be fired, no question, for unprofessional conduct, but yarp there's no basis for any civil suit because there is no victim. i'd guess there ain't no HIPPO there either.
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yep, I don't know about this HIPPA shit, but it was unprofessional, and cause for firing.

and I think there might be a lawsuit, for emotional damage, that the picture was put up on the net by a callous so and so...
 
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