HIPPA/PHI violation?

[Silverman780]

Question, for my senior project have been volunteering in a ER for a couple of months to gain exposure to the medical setting. For my write up If I write about experiences I have seen would that be in violation of HIPPA / PHI?

Example: Patient one, a boy, comes in soaked in blood with multiple lacerations on his face from a dog bite, I page triage and and we get him back into a room and help get him checked in. Three hours later and a head full of stitches he and his mother are out the door....

Thank you!

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[Gallix23]

I want to say no, because there are no names being used so there are no confidentiality issues. For all anyone knows, you could be making all of the scenarios up

 

[Silverman780]

I want to say no, because there are no names being used so there are no confidentiality issues. For all anyone knows, you could be making all of the scenarios up

thats what I thought, then as I was reading panda bear MD he started talking about HIPPA and it made me paranoid.

 

[URHere]

As long as you don't write anything terribly specific, you should be just find. HIPAA was designed so that patients couldn't be identified by things that were said or written about their medical experiences. As long as you leave out anything that could identify the patients (name, address, exactly when you saw them, what their disease was if it is something extremely rare) you should be just fine.

You are completely alright to talk about the experiences you have had as long as the patient cannot be identified.

 

[docB]

Keep things as vague as possible. The real "protected info" they're talking about refers to stuff like SSNs, DOBs and so on. But if you gave enough info that lots of people could id the person it would be less clear cut. For example a "6yo child mauled by a dog" should be vague enough to prevent identification. "A 6yo hispanic boy mauled by his sister's poodle who came in on a specific date." might be too much.

 

[45408]

1. You should be just fine. If you're actually concerned, change the gender and add/subtract a few years. Add specific details that weren't part of the story (e.g., if it was actually a Hispanic boy bitten by a Doberman, say it was an Asian girl bitten by her poodle). Either way, it should hardly be an issue. Like docB said, the big stuff is specific info like names, birthdates, etc. I saw a blog entry that explained the details - I'll post it if I find it.


2. Make sure your story doesn't sound too melodramatic. It'll detract from your point. "Soaked in blood" sounds like a line from a TV show script.

 

[Local]

I doubt HIPPA will be looking into your senior project; just dont use specific names or dates, and you'll be good.

 

[Law2Doc]

I doubt HIPPA will be looking into your senior project; just dont use specific names or dates, and you'll be good.

HIPPA is a privacy act, not an organization. So it won't be "looking" anywhere, either you violate the act or you don't. Your teachers or school administrators may very well admonish you if you violate the act. It's like libel -- you don't always know who is going to see it, but that doesn't make it less wrong. This is not the kind of thing you "play the odds" about -- it can ruin your future to violate patient privacy at such an early date. I agree that if you render the patient unrecognizable in the project, you are fine.