Q&A: Nursing staff snooping on patient records

Q. We feel like a nursing staff member may be snooping at another patient’s records—and often. What’s a good first step to take?

A. If you have electronic records, you can check the audit trail to see who is viewing the patient’s records. If the audit trail shows anyone is viewing the record without a need to know, disciplinary action is appropriate.

Access to paper-based records is harder to monitor. You could secure the patient’s record, perhaps in the nursing director’s office, and make it available on request to those who need to know. You could also provide privacy training to the nursing staff and remind them that patient records should only be accessed if they are caring for the patient and have a need to know, and that unauthorized access is subject to disciplinary action.

Editor's note: Mary D. Brandt, MBA, RHIA, CHE, CHPS, is a healthcare consultant specializing in healthcare regulatory compliance and operations improvement. She is also an advisory board member for Briefings on HIPAA. This information does not constitute legal advice. Consult legal counsel for answers to specific privacy and security questions.