Resident Privacy Violation Due to Hospital Wristband
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of a resident's personal and medical information. A resident, identified as R33, was observed sitting in the dining room wearing a white hospital wristband that displayed his full name, date of birth, age, and medical record number. This wristband was placed on him during a hospital stay and was not removed upon his return to the facility, thereby exposing his private health information to anyone who could see it. The Director of Nursing (DON) acknowledged the oversight when it was brought to their attention and confirmed that the wristband should have been removed upon the resident's readmission to the facility. The facility's policy on Health Information Management mandates that all resident-identifiable information be kept confidential and only disclosed to authorized individuals. The failure to remove the wristband resulted in a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as it allowed unauthorized access to the resident's personal health information.