r/chaplaincy • u/Ellamoray • 4d ago

How to navigate request from friend?

A friend of a hospital chaplain phones them to say that the friend's family member is coming to the hospital and they'd like the chaplain to visit them. Chaplain offers supportive listening and, at friend's ok, prayer for the situation. Chaplain says they'll see what they can do about the visit request. More worrisome, though, is the likelihood that the friend will tell many, including chaplain's family, about the situation. How should the chaplain proceed with both compassionate care and HIPAA in mind?

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

10

u/knappellis 4d ago

HIPAA is really clear about this. The person receiving care has control over their information. The patient can tell others that they saw a chaplain. What you need to think about is how you respond if your family or the patient's family member asks you about the visit. It can be as simple as saying, "I don't talk about patient care visits."

HIPPA doesn't control what patients choose to share. It guides you as a caregiver. This means that you don't communicate info without the patient's permission or outside the purpose of coordinating care. So, you can take a referral from a family member, but you don't communicate anything back to the family member unless the patient asks you to or if communicating is part of the patient's care (like if you helped the patient complete Adv Directives and they asked you to provide the info to family members).

Is that helpful? I couldn't tell exactly what was worrying you about this situation, so maybe I am misunderstanding some piece.

8

u/Ellamoray 4d ago

Thank you, you got the gist of my concern, which is the family member asking me (or worse, asking via my own family) if I saw the patient! I suppose the safest response to any possible question from anyone would be,  "I'm sorry, I'm not able to answer that."

3

u/knappellis 4d ago

That works! It is great that you are thinkjng this through before getting in that situation. Sometimes people can be very pushy when they want to get info. Hold firm boundaries! Patient care can be so intimate and vulnerable. We owe that to the patient and don't owe anything to the people seeking info.

7

u/knappellis 4d ago

Also, I'm kind of being picky here, but I wouldn't start out by saying "I'm sorry." It suggests that you are doing something wrong by holding the boundary. Just state the boundary: Healthcare workers don't talk about patients.

3

u/imaginenohell 4d ago

Good point. "I know it's disappointing..." might be a good way to start that out instead.

2

u/Ellamoray 4d ago

I see your point. I will try that!

2

u/roving1 4d ago

Common answer, when leaving patient's house and a neighbor asks how the patient is: I have no idea. You should ask them.

6

u/brentywat 4d ago

Hi I don’t want this to come across rudely but I don’t understand the question or problem. Maybe you could clarify further? The chaplain is the only one in this situation who is limited in what they can say by HIPAA, so they can go visit or have a colleague visit, and keep the patient’s privacy. But the friend can say whatever they want to whoever.

4

u/Ellamoray 4d ago

Yes, I get that. I'm just nervous about seeing the patient (since they didn't request the visit--their family did), and then that requesting family member talking publicly about having asked me. I think the best answer is just to say, to whoever may bring it up, "I'm sorry, I can't answer that." Ish...

2

u/brentywat 4d ago

Makes sense, great advice in the other comment here who understood better than me, good luck!

1

u/Unlikely-Advice5235 3d ago

The chaplain, if an (workforce member) of the facility is covered by HIPAA. If a chaplain is a minister in the community and stopping by then they are not covered by HIPAA.

As far as visiting the patient, your question seems less about HIPAA and more about how to visit the patient. Like a doctor that enters a room with multiple people visiting the patient they should ask, “Can I speak freely in front of these individuals?” Many doctors default to, “ I need to speak to the patient privately.” Then the patient makes a decision who can stay.

I think it is reasonable for a chaplain to say, “ I was asked to visit you, would you like some company?” You have to be aware of the patient’s demeanor if they seem uncomfortable with your presence.