Ok so heres the situation:  I am a new nurse and still somewhat insecure of what i can and cannot say to people who arent a pts poa but anyways so yesterday i was at work and a pts neice called and wanted information regarding her aunt and if she had be doing her therapies and if shes eating and how much and how is her pain is...i then asked the lady on the phone if she was this pts poa. she was like no i said well unfortunately i cannot give any information to her d/t hipaa. the lady then yells at me that that is stupid and shes a nurse and i need to tell her this information. i stood my ground and said she can either speak with the pt or her husband who is her poa well that wasnt good enough. the pts husband was at my facility right after she called so he said he would call her. but was i in the wrong for not giving her the information or was i right??? needless to say my don said she would support me if she called and complained but just bc your a nurse shouldnt she know better then to ask for information?  ugggh i just hope i was right

If the niece was a nurse, then she should have understood and already  known the HIPPA laws. Good for you

ctrum6414 says ...

If the niece was a nurse, then she should have understood and already  known the HIPPA laws. Good for you

i was thinking the same thing.  but from what my pts husband stated to me was that she kind of sticks her nose into peoples business like for example he said  she started an iv at a regional hospital that she didnt work at for a nurse who couldnt get a stick...either way i dont think that is right either but who knows.

thanks for all the replies

You did the right thing. What we do, is set up a password. That what if other family members want to know things, and they are aware of the password, then we can share info. If not, they are not given information. I don't care who they say they are. Anybody can say they are somebody. The HIPPA guidelines are very forthright in their meaning. Nurses know that.