I work at a hospital. I was going on medical leave. My physician sealed all my medical paperwork for my privacy in an envelope. I signed the seals and on the front was written "for this patient's privacy please do not open unless medically necessary or Human Resources." My nurse manager's secretary requested this paperwork be turned into the office. The sealed medical information was opened by the nurse manager without my permission. There was no medical reason for her to open this paperwork. . She does not work in Human Resources. She never requested verbally or otherwise from me if it was permissible for her to open my sealed medical documents.
I was informed by the department which handles leave requests that she should never have opened this paperwork neither should she have requested it. She only needed to see the single page that she needed to sign and her requesting via her secretary the paperwork was improper procedure. Is this a violation of HIPAA?
I was informed by the department which handles leave requests that she should never have opened this paperwork neither should she have requested it. She only needed to see the single page that she needed to sign and her requesting via her secretary the paperwork was improper procedure. Is this a violation of HIPAA?
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