Failure to Safeguard Resident Medical Information During Care Conference
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain the confidentiality of a resident's medical information and did not follow its own Resident Rights policy. During an interdisciplinary team (IDT) meeting intended to update a resident's family member on their progress, staff mistakenly brought the wrong resident to the meeting. The Unit Manager began reading the intended resident's medication information aloud with the incorrect resident present. The error was identified when the family member on the phone noted that the resident present did not sound like their family member. Upon checking the identification band, staff confirmed that the wrong resident was present, and the meeting was stopped. The resident whose information was disclosed had diagnoses including muscle wasting and atrophy, type 2 diabetes, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and was cognitively intact according to assessment records. The facility's Licensed Nursing Home Administrator confirmed that staff did not verify the resident's identity before discussing medical information, which resulted in a breach of privacy and confidentiality. Facility policy and federal standards require verification of resident identity to protect sensitive health information, but this protocol was not followed in this instance.