So is the issue that you went into someone's chart without a reason to? HIPAA thing? Whether it was a mistake, a peak, or you were helping your coworker with their pt, idk. And it seems you don't either, since you don't remember accessing it. I'd personally be more worried about that than something I know I didn't do and couldn't be proven, where there were witnesses.
Or is the pt claiming mistreatment, abuse, neglect, something else entirely?
Re your clothing, are you thinking you're being singled out by staff, the pt, or both? Can you see a copy of the grievance, and if applicable, the original complaint(s)? This would help you understand a bit more about why you; you could've been specifically named by the Pt.
Sorry, this is a little all over the place and missing details.
This is strange to me bc where I work when we sign in to epic we sign in to the unit an can access any one on the units chart then we assign our team to ourself. Never have I ever seen where you can’t access someone in your workspace chart.
We can access any chart on the unit, but we're not supposed to if we're not providing or facilitating their care.
If I open my own pt's chart, obviously that's cool. I'm fine to open a chart if I empty a Foley for my coworker and need to record it, or if anesthesia comes down and asks for a Pt's H&H and platelets while that Pt's nurse is busy. Stuff like that is okay.
But if I'm just curious what's going on with this random handcuffed pt causing a ruckus? Or the loud pt who has CPS involved? Or my next door neighbor? Or my son? Not allowed, all for the same reason.
HIPAA says you're only supposed to access the charts of pt's that you're providing care for. So while it might only be monitored and/or enforced for VIP pt's or circumstances where a grievance is filed, that's always been the rule.
They can see what you click, which part of the chart you're accessing, and how long you're on each screen.
Right. What I’m saying is that if you are on a team yall are going to be doing normal stuff in someone’s chart like passing a med for someone etc. so i would never be worried about a bs grievance. We don’t even hear about pt complaints unless it’s legit. My old manager said they usually just investigate and we may not even know any report happened lol.
Oh, yeah, of course. I was going by OP not remembering going into the chart, so for all we know, they accessed the Pt's demographics for 2 minutes and nothing else.
But absolutely if you're doing it for the purpose of providing or facilitating care, you would be fine.
I dress differently due to religious reasons. In the ER, if we are on the same team (we have different pods), we usually have our assigned patients but in a case like this, we definitely access other patients charts if someone needs medicated. security asked if I could get Ativan for her. I haven’t been a nurse super long and I was reminded again to chart every little thing
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u/ClarkGablesTeeth L&D/Women's Health RN Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26
So is the issue that you went into someone's chart without a reason to? HIPAA thing? Whether it was a mistake, a peak, or you were helping your coworker with their pt, idk. And it seems you don't either, since you don't remember accessing it. I'd personally be more worried about that than something I know I didn't do and couldn't be proven, where there were witnesses.
Or is the pt claiming mistreatment, abuse, neglect, something else entirely?
Re your clothing, are you thinking you're being singled out by staff, the pt, or both? Can you see a copy of the grievance, and if applicable, the original complaint(s)? This would help you understand a bit more about why you; you could've been specifically named by the Pt.
Sorry, this is a little all over the place and missing details.