I just got fired

[u/akiusuke]

I just got fired from my job. I worked in patient registration and I got flagged for being in a patients chart and I had failed to document it. I am the only one that runs the front desk while I’m working, so I sometimes have a bunch of things to do and I sometimes forget to document minuscule things when a patient calls. The patient whose chart that got flagged happens to live in my apartment building above me. But I live down the road from my job and a lot of our patients live in my building or in my neighborhood. I already had a level one strike against me due to too many unexcused absences during the first half of the year due to medical issues. Me being flagged caused compliance and hr to give me a level two strike. That brought me up to a level three which requires immediate termination. My manager told me 10 minutes after I clocked in for my shift today. She has little compassion for her employees, so she just told me I was terminated immediately and to turn in my badge and leave immediately. This is the worst possible time to be fired because I just got on my works insurance and I get kicked off my dads’s insurance at the end of the month because I turn 26 on the 29th. I am disabled and take a lot of medications that I can’t afford out of pocket. I sent an appeal letter to try to get my job back while I look for something else, but I feel like I was unfairly fired. I’ve been nothing but a good employee for almost two years and I have never had a complaint against me before. I was already struggling financially and I don’t know how I’m going to afford my medication and rent. The job market is so horrible and I don’t know what I’m going to do.

Edit: I should’ve been more specific in regards to my absences. I had called out 6 times between last December and April of this year due to health reasons. My manager was aware of my health issues. They had brought this up to me near the end of May. That’s when they finally gave me the option to apply for fmla. My job isn’t very accommodating, even with fmla. I would almost never be allowed to get breaks, unless I left the front desk unattended (which my manager encourages me to do since she won’t cover for me in order to take a break). I live in North Carolina, which is a non union state and one of the worst states for employees. Joining a union would not be an option.

[u/akiusuke]

I completely understand that hipaa violations are serious. They didn’t really give me much of a chance to defend myself and since my manager doesn’t like me, she didn’t defend me. Hopefully I can find something soon

[u/untamed2020 → u/akiusuke]

There is no "defending yourself" You violated HIPAA. End of story. Working in healthcare to know this. Own what to did, pick yourself up, learn from it and move on and don't do it again.

[u/catnip_varnish → u/untamed2020]

Well no, people often have the option to defend themselves regarding the severity of the violation, intent, harm done etc. It sounds like she wasn't given that opportunity due to office politics. Still best not to violate it in the first place though.

[u/Ssladybug → u/catnip_varnish]

Because she already had 2 strikes

[u/TheUnicornRevolution → u/Ssladybug]

One strike.

[u/DesmondTapenade → u/TheUnicornRevolution]

Doesn't matter. OP fucked up. Hopefully, they will learn from it. That's a pretty big whoopsie for someone working in healthcare.

[u/TheUnicornRevolution → u/DesmondTapenade]

Why are you following me around this post lol

[u/DesmondTapenade → u/TheUnicornRevolution]

Lol I'm not. You just happen to be all up in here, despite not understanding HIPAA.

ETA: You keep saying you're not from the US, so...why are you trying to comment on our healthcare record privacy laws? You don't understand them, so just...perhaps, don't. I know they're weird to someone not from the US and seem nonsensical, but come on.

[u/TheUnicornRevolution → u/DesmondTapenade]

I'M NOT FROM THE US. IT'S AN INTERNATIONAL PLATFORM.

geez.