u/intrepidlyme

UPDATE #2

Wounds do not appear to be infected, but they took samples for testing to be certain. It appears to just be wound dehiscence.

The wounds have been irrigated, packed, and bandaged with instructions to follow up with wound care Monday, as this is unlikely to heal without a wound vac on each site. The er doctor will also come over tomorrow and Sunday to continue monitoring.

I am very fortunate to have that access to care pretty much 24/7 when needed. I just hate to be the person who bugs them for medical advice. This was an exception, and I had tried to reach them prior to posting. It's the busiest week of the year in our town of ~4000 people with thousands of tourists visiting for the 4th of July, and our hospital only has one doctor on duty at a time.

Thanks everyone. I'll be heading back home soon.

UPDATE

ER doctor relative called. They say it doesn't look infected, but since I'm concerned they are going to have someone come and get me. So going to the er just out of precaution.

Two weeks post-op and returned home 3 days ago from Mexico with a jp drain (the bulb suction kind) and an open drain remaining in place. I've continued wearing my compression garments around the clock except when bathing or changing the gauze, eating plenty of protein, and resting in an adjustable bed.

The incisions around my drains are opening up to the point that I now have to use a combination of gauze, tape, and compression to keep suction in the one drain. Both openings are a little over an inch in length. There are 2 additional smaller openings as well, so a total of 4, with one each on my abdomen, back, and both flanks.

My surgeon advised that these openings are larger than expected and to remove both drains at this time and to continue lymphatic massage.

I'm kind of freaking out. Has anyone in here dealt with something similar? What was the outcome?

Looking for input from compliance professionals on a situation I'm aware of. I'm being a little vague, as I'm not sure if anyone from my organization is in this sub.

A clinical support employee with no treatment relationship to a patient accessed their medical chart multiple times over the past year for personal reasons. The accesses included use of an EHR-integrated HIE to pull outside records from other health systems. Both the EHR access and HIE access were confirmed by organizational leadership.

An access restriction was added to the chart months before the formal report, almost certainly at the direction of the treating clinician or department head. At what point does the breach notification clock typically start?

A formal compliance report was submitted about five weeks ago. The employee remains employed with full EHR access to all other patients. As far as i know, no breach notification has been sent to the affected individual.

How and through what channels can or should the outside health systems whose records were accessed be notified, and who carries that responsibility?

The organization also has a regional HIE that staff can access separately and it is unclear whether that was reviewed. How and through what channels should that be addressed if it wasn't part of the investigation?

I am also personally conflicted about this situation. I reported through proper channels and have seen no meaningful action taken, which has created a genuine ethical and moral burden.

If an organization confirms a breach but takes no meaningful corrective action, what options exist for someone with knowledge of what happened?

One more point, the organization's website still lists a compliance officer who departed at least a year ago. That person's replacement never really fulfilled the rule and had also done moved on. Another employee, from an unrelated department, was recently named as the latest compliance officer. I'm not aware of anyone holding the title of privacy officer within the organization.

FDL 360 Tummy Tuck Incisions Opening

Organization not acting on confirmed HIPAA breach, looking for perspective on obligations and recourse