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Difficulty: MediumConfidentiality and Information Security

A practical nurse (PN) is assisting a colleague with a complex wound dressing change. The colleague uses a personal smartphone to photograph the wound, stating, "The facility camera is missing, and the wound care specialist needs to see this immediately. I made sure the client's face is not in the picture." Which action should the PN take first?

  1. Instruct the colleague to immediately delete the photograph from the personal smartphone.Answer
  2. B
    Confirm that no identifying features or room numbers are visible in the background of the photograph.
  3. C
    Obtain verbal consent from the client to send the image to the wound care specialist.
  4. D
    Report the incident directly to the facility's privacy officer or charge nurse.

Answer

The correct action is to instruct the colleague to immediately delete the photograph from the personal smartphone.
Using an unencrypted personal device to capture any client clinical data is a direct violation of HIPAA and facility policy, regardless of whether the face is visible. The nurse's first responsibility when witnessing an active breach is to intervene immediately to mitigate the risk. Having the colleague delete the photo prevents it from being sent over an unsecured network or synced to a personal cloud.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the primary issue in the scenario.
A colleague is using an unsecured personal device to capture protected health information (PHI).
Recognizing the nature of the confidentiality breach determines the necessary intervention.
2
Determine the priority of action based on nursing leadership and safety principles.
The immediate priority is to stop the ongoing violation to prevent further dissemination of the data.
If the photo remains on the phone, it risks being transmitted via unsecured networks or backed up to a personal cloud server.
3
Select the option that addresses the immediate threat.
Instructing the colleague to delete the photograph directly halts the breach.
Direct intervention is prioritized over delaying to report or attempting to validate an already prohibited action.

Key Concept

HIPAA Compliance and Mobile Device Security
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Confidentiality and Information Security

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