Failure to Protect Resident Health Information Privacy in Public Areas
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves failures to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of residents’ personal health information during clinical interactions in public areas. A nurse practitioner and an RN discussed medications with Resident #7 in a hallway near a resident room after the resident approached the NP with questions about medications prescribed the prior day; there was no evidence the NP directed the resident to a private location for this discussion. The same NP and RN then went to the activities room, where six residents were seated at a table playing a dice game, and the NP discussed Resident #42’s ankle pain and the plan to prescribe new medication at the table without asking if the resident was comfortable being assessed there or making any accommodations to move her away from the other residents. Resident #42’s record contained a progress note documenting that she was seen by the NP and that new orders were received related to complaints of leg pain. A separate incident occurred in the dining area during lunch, where a speech therapist spoke with Resident #79 about a recent doctor’s appointment in the presence of two visitors, 11 residents, and two LPNs. When the resident, who had cognitive issues, could not provide the information, the therapist loudly called across the room to an LPN to ask about the appointment, and the LPN responded by describing the physician visit loudly enough to be heard from the other side of the room. The LPN later confirmed that private medical information had been requested and shared in the full dining area and acknowledged that this information should not have been disclosed in that public setting. These actions were inconsistent with the facility’s Dignity, Respect, and Privacy Policy, which requires that unnecessary individuals be asked to leave while care is provided and that residents’ privacy and dignity be maintained.
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