A student copies an obituary from the newspaper for a patient she and other students cared for during a clinical rotation. The student posts the obituary on her Facebook page and asks if other nursing students will be attending the wake / visitation . This action is a violation of HIPAA policy?

Answer 1

Yes, this action is a violation of HIPAA policy. The obituary contains protected health information (PHI) of the patient, and posting it on a public platform like Facebook constitutes a breach of privacy. Even if the student didn't reveal any specific personal details apart from the name of the patient, any disclosure of PHI without written authorization is considered a violation.