Q&A: Incidental disclosures

Q. A patient in the emergency room (ER) recently complained that she could hear the doctor and nurses discussing details of care of the patient in the bed next to hers. She was able to confirm that the curtain was pulled around the bed, but she believes the nurses and doctor were talking too loud. I understand that we should avoid disclosures, but the ER is often noisy and chaotic. How should we handle this situation? The patient who complained has contacted several people at our hospital.

A. This is considered an incidental disclosure. It is not a violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, as long as the covered entity has taken reasonable steps to limit such disclosures. Explain this to the patient, apologize, and tell her you will remind the staff to keep their voices as low as possible when working in non-private areas of the ER.

Editor’s note: This questions was answered by Mary D. Brandt, MBA, RHIA, CHE, CHPS. Brandt is a healthcare consultant specializing in healthcare regulatory compliance and operations improvement. She is also an advisory board member for BOH. This information does not constitute legal advice. Consult legal counsel for answers to specific privacy and security questions. Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not represent HCPro or ACDIS. Email your HIPAA questions to Editor Nicole Votta at nvotta@hcpro.com.