Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

As health care providers, and as one of its covered entities, nurses must be knowledgeable about the various aspects of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Aspen University SONHS offers the guidance below for those persons to ensure compliance with those requirements and asks that all students sign the HIPAA Confidentiality Agreement.

Students and faculty are required to do the following:

Sign the SONHS Faculty/Staff/Student HIPAA Confidentiality Agreement before any involvement in a clinical agency.
Attend HIPAA training or in-classroom clinical instruction on requirements relating to patient privacy.
Know and adhere to a clinical site’s privacy and procedures before undertaking any activities at the site.
Maintain the confidentiality of any patient information at all times.
Promptly report any violation of those procedures, applicable law, or SONHS’s HIPAA confidentiality agreement by a SONHS student, faculty or staff member to the appropriate SONHS clinical coordinator or clinical faculty member.
Understand that a violation of the clinical site’s policies and procedures, of applicable law, or SONHS’s HIPAA confidentiality agreement will subject the student to disciplinary action. Students and faculty are not to do the following:
Discussing of patients in common areas, cafeteria, etc. Post conference will be held in a secluded area to prevent overhearing by patients and visitors.
Remove any record from the clinical site without the prior written authorization of that site.
Disclose any information about a patient during the clinical assignment to anyone other than the health-care staff of the clinical site.
Use patient information in the context of a learning experience, classroom case presentation, class assignment, or research without attempting to exclude as much of the following information as possible:

Names
Geographical subdivisions smaller than a state
Dates of birth, admission, discharge, death
Telephone and fax numbers
E-mail addresses
Social security numbers
Medical records or account numbers
Certificate/license numbers
Vehicle or device numbers
Web locators/Internet protocols
Biometric identifiers
Full face identifiers
Any other unique identifying number, characteristic, or code
All ages over 89

Post any photos or patient information on social media sites.
Access any patient information unless patient is clinical assignment.
Disclose any personal health information to any entity not requiring PHI for health care purposes without their consent.

It is important for students who use social media for conversations for school-related purposes or school-related activities such as interactions in or about clinical course activities to understand confidentiality and privacy in the health care setting. When utilizing social media, students must be aware that the information posted may be public for others to see. Do not post confidential, sensitive, or proprietary information about students, clinical facilities, patients, or others you may come in to contact with in your student role. Distribution of sensitive and confidential information is protected under HIPAA and FERPA whether discussed through traditional communication channels or through social media.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing has developed a guide for further clarification regarding the use of social medial and its boundaries. For more information, review White Paper: A Nurse’s Guide to Use of Social Media