Termination for a HIPAA violation does not just mean loss of current employment and benefits. Shake [it] off, you have 5 more hours.. She has such a huge audience and so many nurses that look up to her. "To be belittled and mocked during that experience is outright unacceptable. What was the impact of the accidental disclosure? A nurse at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami was fired after posting photos of a baby born with a birth defect over social media in early September, according to multiple local media . The failure to comply with HIPAA Rules can result in significant penalties for HIPAA covered entities. I do find the comment very insensitive. Texas Nurse Fired for Social Media HIPAA Violation Posted By HIPAA Journal on Sep 13, 2018 A nurse at a Texas children's hospital has been fired for violating Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Rules by posting protected health information on a social media website. The Highest Paying Jobs For Nurses With a BSN, Types of Masters in Nursing Degrees & Specialties, Pros & Cons of Getting a Master's Degree in Nursing, Nurse Practitioner vs Physician Assistant, Highest Paid Nurse Practitioner Specialties, How to Conduct a Nursing Head-to-Toe Assessment, How to Read an Electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG), Understanding and Interpreting the Glasgow Coma Scale, Complete List of Common Nursing Certifications. The likely consequence in this scenario is a warning about using social media in the future. It's especially true for nursing students who use social media who may not know HIPAA regulations as well as seasoned nurses. Much like their dance routines, empathy is also performative, and theyll even exploit the death of a patient to display their supposed struggle after managing to lose another one or highlight their strength to constantly overcome this commonplace occurrence in their profession. How you report a nurse for a HIPAA violation depends on if you are a patient (or family member of a patient) or a colleague of the nurse. With over 128,000 followers as of the writing of this update, she is one of the most popular nurses on Instagram. Where the HIPAA violation represents gross misconduct with serious consequences for either a patient or an employer, a nurse could also be reported to their licensing board; while a criminal violation (under 1177 of the Social Security Act) will likely be referred to law enforcement. Because none of us are perfect. Last year, a St. Louis doctors Facebook complaints about a chronically late patient drew hundreds of outraged comments from Internet posters. Become a Part of the Nurse.org Community! It came when emergency room nurse Katie Duke was fired for posting a photo to Instagram. Curious to see where she takes it? Due to the information contained in the posts and the rarity of the disease, it is possible that the child could have been identified. However, as this incident shows, the patient does not need to be mentioned by name in order for them to potentially be identified. Thank you for a more balanced discussion of the situation. All other violations of HIPAA are civil offences subject to an employers sanctions policy or sanctions set by HHS Office for Civil Rights. Katie Duke is a no-nonsense kind of nurse who has a personal motto of deal with it. It may even be her nursing motto. In fact, it is my understanding is that a physician shared the same photo without the caption and didnt lose his job or receive a known reprimand. Katie Duke's story spotlights the hazards of social media in hospitals. This is a great chance for nurses to learn from the mistakes of one another and put a little more thought into the pictures they take, the statuses they post, and even the times they post them. The TikTok trend originally began as a way for someone to describe why they stopped dating another person. In the video, another nurse says her "ick" is when the mother says she doesnt want pain medication but you are at an eight out of 10 pain. Another nurse says: "The dad comes outside and asks for a paternity test right outside the room door., One of the nurses talks about family members coming up to the nurse's station every five minutes and the father going room to room between one baby mama and your other baby mama., Emory Healthcare said the video was "disrespectful and unprofessional," and does not "represent our commitment to patient-family-centered care.". The firing of a New York City nurse for her social media use has reaffirmed the hazards of healthcare workers bringing their work online, according to ABC News. Samuels, who posted several other photos of herself on the job, was placed on administrative leave last month after the photos surfaced. It actually filmed her there. 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. Those nurses empathized with us until the moment he left this earth and chose to mourn his passing alongside us. You can read it in the stills. The lines are way too blurry to point fingers. Again not an expert on HIPAA by any means but from all my years of experience and training thats how I see it. All links on this site may be affiliate links and should be considered as such. 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. I saw a lot of nurses / RTs posting because the media released the name she wasnt bound by HIPAA. You can read more about accidental HIPAA violations here. 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. If a nurse violates HIPAA by accident, it is vital that the incident is reported to the person responsible for HIPAA compliance in your organization the Privacy Officer, if your organization has appointed one or your supervisor. Abuse of Prescription or Non-Prescription Drugs 6. However, she concedes the posting might have upset someone not familiar with the morbid exchanges that can occur in the emergency room. If you want to support this channel, please visit the following sites below: Cash app: https://cash.me/$Dawson305Paypal Donation Link:https://www.paypal.com. You have every right to express your opinion, as do the others who have blogged or posted about this situation. Knowledge is power, and you need to know what may put your employment at risk. HIPAA Violations 4. @NurseBecca thank you so much for your comment Becca. Furthermore, HIPAA violations by nurses are more likely to be reported to the healthcare facility at which they occurred and resolved internally. Our culture of narcissism has no occupational boundaries, and the honorable position of being a nurse has been tainted over the past couple of years by the public indecency of the narcissistic monsters within the profession. She reportedly created a GoFundMe page titled "TikTok Got me Fired," but explains that she was suspended from her job. Sharing protected health information on social media websites should be further explained. The bombs people drop on social media can detonate right away or lurk like hidden land mines. A NURSE in North Carolina was suspended after allegedly ridiculing and mocking patients - some of whom were critically ill. You know all nursing jobs arent created (or paid!) Further information on the penalties for HIPAA violations are detailed here. Look her up. byCarlton G. Brown, PhD, RN, AOCN, NEA-BC, FAAN. Find all that an more with the FreshRN VIP - Membership. More recently, the pandemic brought about an explosion of cruel, unprofessional online behavior, even among people who ought to know better. "All my videos are comedy skits. This time it looks like she didnt exercise the best judgment when it comes to using social media as a healthcare professional and has consequently been forced to deal with her own inappropriate actions. Its not the photo, in my humble opinion, thats the real issue. Four days after the nurse was suspended the decision was taken to fire her for the HIPAA violation. Additionally, if the violation has serious consequences for either a patient or an employer, the case could be referred to a licensing board; while, if the accidental HIPAA violation is considered a criminal act, the nurse could be reported to law enforcement. Steve is responsible for editorial policy regarding the topics covered on HIPAA Journal. BREAKING:U.S. military is tracking another mysterious balloon that flew over parts of Hawaii. Katie Duke is a passionate nurse who has strong opinions and will no doubt find another job and have continued success. Since, she is working at a new facility and being filmed there? Oh, I dont recall them elaborating on that during the show. 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. HITECH News Check out our list of the top non-bedside nursing careers. Without knowing the answers to these questions, it is impossible to discuss potential consequences. After receiving the suspension, the nurse appeared to realize that she had shared too much information and deleted several of her posts. The nurse, Kelly Morris, said the social media videos in question were just jokes. Im not a HIPAA expert by any means, but I thought it was more than insensitive IMO it was a HIPAA violation. Florida sheriff says he would have immediately detained Br Woman has 'loud, full body orgasm' in the middle of LA concert, Biden son arrives for baby mama showdown, lawyer says he's already paid $750K support, Meghan Markle's ailing dad in 'final ever' interview: 'I refuse to be buried by her', Rihanna has secret 3 a.m Met Gala fitting for $25 million in Cartier jewels, Stanley Tucci used feeding tube for 6 months during brutal cancer battle, Ireland Baldwin tricks Paris Hilton, Hilary Duff and more stars into thinking she gave birth, NY Post Sports Reporter Zach Braziller breaks down the Knicks game 1 loss to the Heat, Elon Musk Tells Bill Maher Woke Mind Virus Is Dangerous On Real Time, Scott Disick steps out in NYC with Penelope, North West ahead of Met Gala. HIPAA-covered entities are unlikely to recruit a nurse that has previously been fired for violating HIPAA Rules. I saw that episode of NY MED. See our disclaimer for more information. What happens if a nurse violates HIPAA depends on the nature of the violation, the consequences of the violation, the nurses previous compliance history, and the content of the Covered Entitys sanctions policy. Due to a high rate of vaccination (94.5%) in Houston, a measles case is very rare. In today's society, social media is at everyone's fingertips via a smartphone or iPad. I felt so bad for her, but she should have known better.. ! The nurses at Emory University Hospital Midtown were participating in a popular trend where users share their "icks" or turnoffs about a person. Breach News She did get a new job at another local ER. Bidens return to normalcy brought us crazy instea Hunter Biden may be held accountable for first time in his life in baby mama Lunden Roberts' case, Broadway's 'New York, New York' sticks the landing with a thrilling finale, Dems do Dianne Feinstein dirty, but have not done the same to Biden yet, Woman has 'loud, full body orgasm' in the middle of LA concert, Meghan Markle's ailing dad says he refuses 'to be buried by her' in 'final ever' interview, $76K NJ boarding school admits falling 'tragically short' in protecting teen who killed self after bullying, 'rapist' taunts, Kim Kardashian seemingly shades Kourtney's wedding in now-deleted caption. Looking for a change beyond the bedside? ", "Be assured we have handled the situation and reported her actions to all appropriate state and federal agencies.". Its nomenclature. If a nurse breaches confidentiality for a purpose not permitted by HIPAA, the consequences can depend on whether the breach was well-meaning (i.e., in celebration of a patients recovery) or malicious (i.e., to demean a patient). IE 11 is not supported. Id never heard of Katie Duke, until this string of blogs. The nurse was not fired by her employer for a HIPAA violation or break in hospital policy. What Does VEAL CHOP Stand For in Nursing? "Dont play with peoples lives. Patient Abuse or Poor Professional Conduct 2. 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. Even famous nurses make mistakes on social media. ", 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP. A single Google search for Nurse fired for social media will yield plenty of results. They can include patient errors, HIPAA violations, causing undue risk for an employer, and social media mistakes. Now I know they cut interviews and spin them so I dont know if she admitted she was wrong or not. It is highly likely that a strong case had already been mounted against Katie for her to be fired. Whitley Patterson, whose mother passed away at the nursing home, said she does not buy Morris' explanation. In a recent case, OB nurses from Emory got fired for sharing their patient "icks" on social media. The intent is to explore the complex issue of where personal life intercept work end and how social media makes that all the more complex. When shortcuts develop into a cultural norm, HIPAA violations can occur frequently without them being recognized as HIPAA violations. Most healthcare professionals will be well aware that the posting of any protected health information on a social media website constitutes a HIPAA compliance violation. The pediatric ICU/ER nurse worked at Texas Childrens Hospital and posted a series of comments on Facebook about a rare case of measles at the hospital. professionals to write our content whenever possible. Whether or not a nurse can be fired for a HIPAA violation under any other circumstances will depend on the content of the nurses employment contract and their employers sanctions policy. Later that day, she was fired from her job at New York Presbyterian Hospital, she said. If so, it certainly upped her ratings, Im sure Im dont believe I like that sort of stereotyping about nurse role models though. Is she a bad nurse? Thanks for contacting us. All rights reserved. Content on this site is for entertainment purposes and does not constitute medical advice. You need someone in your corner telling you what your managers really need from you, helping you learn to interact with your preceptor, and really just manage your life. If you want to play you need to play with some children. The list of possible HIPAA violations by nurses is long, although the most common nurse HIPAA violations are listed below. What I do know is that she made a choice and has experienced the consequences of that choice. That means that you can trust us to have reliable, up-to-date information The same applies to sharing PHI including photographs and videos of patients via messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Skype, and Facebook Messenger. 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.. Your first year as a nurse is daunting. We have nurses like the ones from Emory University Hospital Midtown who believe your tribulations are trivial and act as if your presence as a patient is an annoyance. When Emory found out about the viral videos mocking patients, they quickly fired the nurses who were involved. 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. Rather than continually refuting any wrong-doing in the situation, I would have liked to see her say You know what, this is what nurses should do in this situation. Your Privacy Respected Please see HIPAA Journal privacy policy. I sincerely wish that Katie had used this opportunity as a teachable moment. My night was going great them boom! one post by Samuels read, showing a photo of the newborn taken inside the hospitals newborn intensive care unit. HIPAA Advice, Email Never Shared Was the technical safeguard an addressable or required safeguard? A nurse can be held responsible for a HIPAA violation if the non-compliant event occurs frequently in the nursing unit. Is it a possibility it was staged? Brittney Wilson, RN, BSN, also known as The Nerdy Nurse, is an award-winning author and national speaker on social media issues, bullying, and informatics. The nurse, Kelly Morris, said the social media videos in question were just jokes. We can all learn from her mistake and her perseverance. I do not know. Nurses are held to the highest standard in their jobs and profession. Duke also claims that the photo was not even hers, but rather reposted from a doctors Instagram page. 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). "No one was ever harmed and I treat all my patients with great care and they all love me.". man vs 6 train. And even if they were, are Katies posts protected by the waivers the producers of NY Med no doubt have patients sign? Get a . Others may be a breach of the HIPAA Privacy Rule and/or state privacy laws. Lack of Professionalism Final Thoughts Related Article equally, but do you know which nurses are making the most money in 2023? Making Too Many Mistakes 8. Regulatory Changes Had the actions been covered in security and awareness training? Receive weekly HIPAA news directly via email, HIPAA News But this poor kid was bad off and as a parent, I could see vaccinating out of fear, as reported by the Houston Chronicle, which obtained screenshots of her Facebook posts. that's continuously reviewed to ensure its as relevant and accurate as New York Presbyterian declined to comment on Dukes firing or anyone elses involvement. NYMed provides snapshots of experiences at NYP. A Houston nurse is no longer employed after she posted on social media about a young patient with measles, Texas Children's Hospital said Thursday. My ick is when you ask me how much the baby weighs and its still in your hands, a second nurse says. OB nurses from Emory got fired for sharing their patient "icks" on social media. Youll be the first to know about nursing news, trending topics and educational resources. 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. Its really just sad," the person wrote. For example: Had the nursing student received adequate training before being exposed to PHI/ePHI? 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. "I am being bullied and harassed online and these people are mad that Im not going out quietly so they are hitting harder. . Come chat about it with Dr. Richard Besser, ABC News chief health and medical correspondent as well as the stars and producers of New York Med. Ms Cullen says it is "clear there will be an impact" by the strikes but "it is an impact that can be stopped by the . }); Show Your Employer You Have Completed The Best HIPAA Compliance Training Available With ComplianceJunctions Certificate Of Completion, ArcTitan is a comprehensive email archiving solution designed to comply with HIPAA regulations, Arrange a demo to see ArcTitans user-friendly interface and how easy it is to implement, Find Out With Our Free HIPAA Compliance Checklist, Quickly Identify Potential Risks & Vulnerabilities In Your HIPAA Compliance, Avoid HIPAA Compliance Violations Due To Social Media Misuse, penalties for HIPAA violations are detailed here, violating the HIPAA minimum necessary standard, Reader Offer: Free Annual HIPAA Risk Assessment, Video: Why HIPAA Compliance is Important for Healthcare Professionals, Accessing the PHI of patients you are not required to treat, Gossiping Talking about specific patients and disclosing their health information to family, friends & colleagues, Disclosing PHI to anyone not authorized to receive the information, Improper disposal of PHI Discarding protected health information with regular trash, Leaving PHI in a location where it can be accessed by unauthorized individuals, Using the credentials of another employee to access EMRs/Sharing login credentials, Sharing PHI on social media networks (See below). Even so, the example still has the potential to help many nurses avoid making similar mistakes. HIPAA Advice, Email Never Shared All rights reserved. TikTok got me fired: Why was a nurse suspended over her TikToks? Employers may decide to provide additional training in some cases to ensure the requirements of HIPAA are fully understood. My response to that is that last time I looked, the media was in a different business. I am a nurse in NYC, have worked at Columbia, Katie and I have mutual friends, I am very familiar with the operations of the nursing unions in NY, and I have had this conversation with other nurses here. 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. Your intestines posed to be inside not outside baby! Samuels sickening post read, WSVN reported last month. My ick is when you come in for your induction, talking about, Can I take a shower and eat? one nurse says. 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. And a student who was admitted to an Illinois hospital for extreme intoxication claimed a doctor posted photos of her to various social media sites -- with commentary. Breach of Ethics Nurses are held to high moral and ethical standards. ", Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Man vs. 6train So, did this really happen? Texas Childrens Hospital suspended the nurse when officials found out about her social media posts and an investigation was launched. go-to source for nursing news, trending topics, and educational resources. 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. When weve already told you to push your call light but every 5 minutes your family member coming up to the front desk asking for something else, said one nurse mockingly. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Had the nursing student been given a copy of the Covered Entitys sanctions policy? Without knowing the answers to these questions, it is impossible to determine who is at fault for the accidental disclosure. 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.
