So some here may know my story. That I have a mom in a NH with vascular dementia that was emotionally, financially, and finically abused by an older sibling. She has been in the nursing home for 10 months, during which time we have kept her whereabouts known to very few people in order to keep her safe.
We do not have a restraining order in place as of yet. Last Thursday my mothers abuser showed up at the NH, making false accusations and getting her agitated. We are not 100% positive how he found her but I suspect a Hipaa breech. Not from her NH, as they are aware of the situation. I believe that it came from one of two places. It either the healthcare alliance that she went to from April of 2015- may 2015, as this is the same Dr's office that the abuser goes too, or it was a hospital that his ex wife works at. She works in medical records in a hospital that has affiliations with her Dr, and two of the hospitals that she has been in in the past 10 months. I strongly believe that one of these offices caused the breech and reported her whereabouts back to her abuser. Does anyone know how I can have an investigation started? I am her MDPOA, so it shouldn't be a problem with anyone talking to me, and I have been told that there will be an electronic signature on her records that will show who has accessed them.
With nursing homes, from the ones I have seen one is suppose to sign in, and there is always different Staff at the reception desk depending on what day and what shift, thus it isn't easy for the Staff to remember who is allowed in and who isn't. I've seen people walk past the reception desk without signing in. Best to check with the facility to see what would be the best means of keeping that sibling out of the building.
I would work though on getting a restraining order against the abuser. In my area a restraining order can be obtained ex parte, i.e., without a hearing. Check with your local county, or law enforcement could offer advice on how to get a PPO (personal protection order).
A lawsuit is going to take years. That's the only way the hospital will release any records, any records of who accessed records, etc.
Because the person you suspect works in the medical records unit, I wonder getting a restraining order on her would also be in order because then you could send it to the HIPAA Compliance Officer at the hospital and s/he may connect the dots for you and help in order to save the hospital much bad publicity. HIPAA Compliance Officers are no joke! I used to work with one who was retired military.
I spoke to the NH, we are working on solutions to keeping her safe. I agree abouts signing in, he did not and that needs to be addressed. I am looking into getting an RO and the nursing home has stated that they will ask him to leave when he shows up, I have instructed them that if he becomes belligerent to call the police.
Thanks.
An RO on him is a different story, still need to show cause. I am afraid of him, and no longer want to go to the NH for fear of running into him. I am also very afraid of how he will interact with the staff. Please understand, my brother has financially exploited her, took her car (we still don't know where it is, nor really care) he was thrown out of her apartment when he trashed it but we can not get info of when that happened as the apartment management office doesn't want to get involved. Personally, I don't blame them. I don't want to be involved either.