Re: Whistleblower Protection?

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Terry,

Employee A is an emergency room physician who comes into
contact with Employee B only due to Employee B being a patient
in the ER. The physician otherwise does not see this employee
within the hospital system, does not work with him, has never
met him before. The physician was the treating physician, not
a random physician who happened to be working at the
hospital. If someone had come in from a nearby factory, could
the physician call the person's supervisor at work to report
that he believes he's under the influence? No. This is no
different.

In addition, consulting social services to deal with the issue
further demonstrates that this was a patient treatment issue,
not a human resources issue. Employees who are suspected of
being under the influence are never referred to inpatient
social services. They are dealt with strictly at the
administrative level.

The entire encounter was the by-product of the employee's
visit to and treatment at the ER. The physician knew what
meds the patient was on because the physician had prescribed
them. The physician was absolutely acting as a healthcare
provider - had been assigned to the patient, prescribed meds
to the patient, examined the patient.

How could this NOT be a HIPAA issue?

> None of this has anything to do with HIPAA. Employee A (a
> doctor at the facility at which you all work) had reasonable
> suspicion another employee (B) was unfit for duty and wanted
> it reported to Employee B's supervisor. That's what should
> happen at ANY place of employment so the situation could be
> addressed. Unless I've missed something, nobody was acting
> in their capacity as a health care provider but rather as
> employees.