medical records

Are nurses allowed to access medical records of anyone they want to? I know of someone who is doing this and then spreading rumors about that person. Going so far as to post things online. Is there somewhere that would take a complaint on this? Seems to me everything should be kept confidential since you have to sign that privacy act whenever you go to obtain care.
Most facilities this would be an IMMEDIATE termination, huge HIPAA violation, Nurses have even served jail time...Only members of the patient's health care team are allowed to access the patient's records. If you are not taking care of the patient you have no right to touch their chart. Notify your Nurse manager or HIPAA Officer immediately.

Ditto.The reality is just as Asystole RN described. Jail time for HIPAA violations is not uncommon.

I dont understand. We worked so hard to earn our licenses. A person want to take a chance to give it up so easily. Its unreal. Different strokes for different folks.

Ha, your coworker is an idiot. It is without a doubt illegal. NOBODY is allowed to access a medical record unless it is a "need to know" basis. It's a massive HIPAA violation. We're talking immediate termination, potential fines and lawsuits.You need to tell either your manager or your hospital ethics and compliance officer IMMEDIATELY. You have knowledge of this and you are therefore held accountable for this action as well. Don't be concerned about your coworker- I've never worked in a facility that didn't go over HIPAA violations ad nauseum. Your coworker should know better.

Neleh, I have to assume you are not a nurse or even work in healthcare or you would not be asking this question in this forum, and your allegation appears to be heresay.DonsterRN, the only way someone is doing jail time for a HIPPA violation is if they use that information to commit a crime or for financial gain. Jail time and even significant fines for HIPPA violations are in fact rare.

Good catch, d'cm. To be constructive with that: contact the facility who employs the person that you believe is in violation and let them know anything you know. They'll handle it from there because, yes, that is a huge privacy violation; aside of course from being outright unprofessional and childish.

I just want to reiterate that knowledge of this activity makes neleh responsible to report it, if in fact it's true. The medical records department or infornation services should be able to prove it if they use EMR, or some other way perhaps if they use paper records (remember those days?).