ATI HIPAA Challenge Questions

As you are walking down the hall, you notice that the other RN has left the computer unattended and protected health information is visible to passersby. Which of the following is the appropriate action for you to take?

Locate the nurse responsible for the information and have that person log off. It is the responsibility of the person documenting to protect information that others could access.

Your patient has settled into her room. You are at the nurses' station documenting her blood pressure. As you are doing so, a housekeeper asks you what kind of surgery your patient has had. The housekeeper states that she saw the patient coming back from surgery and that she looks like her neighbor. You appropriately reply

"I cannot answer that question. It is very important to protect our patients' privacy." This response demonstrates respect and protects the patient's confidentiality. Under the principle of disclosing PHI that is minimally necessary for an employee to carry out his or her duties, based on the information in the question, the housekeeper does not need to know the patient's protected health information to carry out her duties as a housekeeper.

You are at the nurses' station when a family member reports that she cannot get information from the doctor about her brother. Which of the following is the most appropriate response?

"I will check with your brother and discuss the matter with him." You acknowledge the sister's concern and plan to discuss it with the person who can make it possible to allow her to receive information about his status.

The patient's sister responds to the suggestion to contact the patient's spouse with, "Oh, we don't get along. He won't tell me anything!" Your most appropriate reply is

"Leave your name and number and I will relay your request." This gives the patient the ability to make the decision about whether or not to speak with her sister.

After lunch, you return to your unit. A visitor stops to ask you if you have a patient named James Smith on the unit. That is your patient's name. You appropriately tell the visitor

"Please give me your name and phone number. Someone will contact you if we are able to give you that information." Inform the patient of the visitor's request and give him the contact information.

Practice exam answer explanations

- Document the patient's condition and that consent was obtained after the primary care provider discussed the proposed surgery with the husband. Since the patient is not cognitively or physically able to provide consent, it is within HIPAA guidelines to discuss the patient's condition with a spouse or close relative or friend. Consent can be obtained from this individual in this emergency situation because it is deemed in the best interest of the patient.

Later that day while eating lunch in the public cafeteria, you hear two nurses discussing your patient's diagnosis. Which of the following is the most appropriate response?

."I don't know if you are aware but your discussion can be overheard and is considered a privacy violation." You explain clearly the implications of this breach in confidentiality.

The physician has sent you a text message with updated patient prescriptions. Which of the following is an appropriate response?

Discuss with the nursing supervisor the best course of action. It is not appropriate to send or receive text messages containing patient information. Generally speaking, the messages sent in this form are not encrypted and therefore are vulnerable to disclosure. Also, there is no way of verifying the identity of the sender. This sort of communication should be avoided.

During your initial assessment rounds, you notice an AP using the one of the computers to document a patient's vital signs. Two visitors are standing directly behind him, and the computer screen is clearly visible to the visitors. The visitors are chatting about their vacations. Which of the following is the most appropriate response?

Tell the AP that you need to talk with him privately and ask him to log off. This will stop the potential breach of information. Speak to him privately and indicate that he should chart away from visitors because there might be accessible information that the patient would like to keep private.

The registry contract nurse is discussing a patient's wound with you and shows you a photograph of the wound on her mobile device. Which of the following is an appropriate response?

."I will need to report this breach of confidentially to the privacy officer." The potential for a HIPAA violation is great when PHI is located on a device that is not encrypted.

The next day, you are giving discharge instructions to your patient. The patient tells you that she would like a copy of her health record. You appropriately reply

."I would be happy to show you where the medical records department is located." Patients are entitled to their health information.

The patient has a large family and they have been calling frequently asking about her status. How should you respond to a phone call from the patient's sister?

Tell her sister that she must speak to the patient's spouse to obtain information. The patient specifically indicated her spouse as her representative. You must give information only to him, making him the only source (besides the patient herself) of information for the family.

The nurse assistant says that she has lost her password. Your best action is to

direct her to the appropriate resource to obtain a new password. You can delegate this task, as the assistant is accountable for her own actions. You are responsible for following up and making sure that the assistant completed the task.

As you help the patient into a wheelchair to be transported to the x-ray department, the transportation assistant asks the patient, "So how did you get hurt?" You should

gently remind the transportation assistant to respect the patient's privacy. You are protecting the patient's right to privacy without being rude or embarrassing the transportation assistant. Keep in mind, the transportation assistant should only be told what is minimally necessary to accomplish his job duties.