Page 13 - Castle MD Spring 2020

Don’t Treat a Drug Seeker Like a Drug Seeker
By Steve Bovey Quality Supervisor
We recently heard these words from David Santos, the hospital president
of our sister hospital at Clearlake in California. He stated that drug abuse and drug addiction were huge problems in their community and that they get more than their fair share of individuals coming to their ER seeking opioids. While he and his hospital staff have a responsibility
to keep their patients safe and not enable their patients’ drug abuse or drug addiction, he also wants every patient to receive compassionate care.
During his visit to Castle, he was impressed with our core competency of Love Matters and stated that he could feel it in our culture. Of course, we know that some of our patients are easier to love than others, and many patients from
Is Gossiping a
HIPAA Violation?
Karlie Myers
Assistant Privacy Officer
Yes, gossiping is a HIPAA violation. Regardless of how harmless the information may seem, it is NEVER
ok to share patient information
with anyone who does not need the information to perform their job. This includes mentioning patient names, appointment and diagnosis information and patient directory information. Privacy protections continue 50 years after an individual’s death.
our community also have drug seeking behaviors. So how do we love them? The answer is often with “tough love”, but tough love does not need to be mean or disrespectful. We can say “no” to their requests for opioids, but we can say it with compassion. These patients can be manipulative and difficult to treat, but they are also miserable and in need of our compassion. We don’t have to give in to their manipulations, but we don’t need to go to war with them either.
During Mr. Santos’ visit there was a code gray announced for the ER lobby. An angry woman was yelling and swearing just outside the ER lobby. As associates responded to the code, they saw one of our ER nurses listening to the woman’s angry outbursts and responding with reassurance and compassion. The woman calmed down and was able to regain
her composure. The code gray response showed the woman that we would not allow her to escalate any further or hurt anyone, and the reassurance and compassion shown by the nurse let her know that she did not have to be afraid and that she could trust us. Love really does matter at Castle.
When discussing patient information with those employees that need
to know because of their specific
job duties, make sure that your discussions are in a private area and cannot be overheard by those around you.
For our continued commitment to patient privacy and confidentiality, remember: only share information with those employees that need to know because of their job duties.
New Interpretation
Services Provider
By Steve Bovey Quality Supervisor
Adventist Health has contracted with a new vendor, CyraCom Language Solutions, to provide access to trained medial interpreters. Interpretation services will be available in any language. The new contract began in late January and allows associates to access CyraCom interpreters through any of the following methods:
• CyraCom iPad carts in ED, Laulima, and clinics: The MARTTI carts in ED, Laulima and clinics will be replaced
with CyraCom iPads. This method is especially helpful for patients who need interpretation using American Sign Language and will feel very familiar to anyone who has used MARTTI.
• Blue Phones: The blue phones are built with a dual-handset specifically designed for medical interpretation and will be available in all patient care areas. These phones will provide faster access for many areas and are easy to use.
• Any phone: CyraCom interpreters
can also be accessed using any phone. Associates can use the speaker option if the patient is in the same room, or if the patient is on the phone, they can place the patient on hold while calling the CyraCom phone number and following the instructions “to add an additional person to the call”.
Super Users will be trained in the hospital and clinics to provide support to new users, and both the iPads and the Blue Phones will have instructions attached to each device.
It is important to remember that associates may provide limited, non-healthcare exchange in a second language for the purpose of providing information such
as directions, orientation to the patient’s room and orientation to time, place, environment or equipment, but trained medical interpreters should always be used for high-risk communication.
SPRING ‘20 · 13