Safety & ProfessionalismQuestion 83 of 100
An EKG technician looks up the chart of a coworker who was admitted overnight, out of concern for her wellbeing. Is this permitted?
a.No, accessing records without a treatment, payment, or operations purpose violates patient privacy law
b.Yes, because the technician is an employee of the facility
c.Yes, as long as the technician does not tell anyone what she reads
d.Yes, if the coworker is a personal friend
Explanation
Federal privacy rules limit access to protected health information to what is necessary for a person's own job duties, so browsing a coworker's chart out of curiosity or concern is a reportable violation regardless of intent. Employment grants access only to the records needed for assigned care. Keeping the information secret does not cure the improper access, and a personal relationship is not a permitted purpose.
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Related questions on this topic
- Before performing an EKG on an inpatient, how should the technician identify the patient?
- Two technicians are discussing a patient's abnormal EKG in a crowded elevator. What is the problem?
- When must an EKG technician perform hand hygiene?
- A patient's chest has an open, draining wound near a chest electrode site. What does the bloodborne pathogens standard require of the technician?
- A patient asks the EKG technician, "Does this tracing mean I had a heart attack?" What is the appropriate response?
- While attaching electrodes, the technician sees ventricular fibrillation appear on the screen and the patient becomes unresponsive. What is the first action?
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