Breaking Compliance News Blog

It can be a HIPAA problem and an abuse problem: when nursing home staff take pictures of residents with their smartphones. Here’s an example.

CNA took photo of deceased resident and shared it to Snapchat

Five CNAs at a New York nursing home took photos and videos of residents—including one deceased resident—on their cell phones and shared them on Snapchat. 

The nursing home was notified of the incident when a member of the public called the administrator and reported that a CNA sent her a photograph of a deceased resident. This CNA admitted taking and sharing photos and videos of eight residents. Her reason for photographing the man who died was “because she was upset that the resident had passed away.” She also took five videos of another resident “mostly yelling and swearing” and sent them to another CNA.

Another CNA admitted that “everyone on the unit on the evening shift was using their cell phones.”

Two nursing home certified nurse aides were fired and charged with disorderly conduct after filming a 91-year old resident in distress and posting the video to Snapchat. 

The two aides allegedly took a video recording of the resident in distress, while they waved a gown in her face - and the resident tried to push it away. The video caption read: "[Resident name] hates gowns," and was accompanied by laughing/crying emojis. Staff at the nursing home were aware that this resident did not care for hospital gowns.

Four nurse aides commit abuse with Facebook Live

The family of an Illinois nursing home resident who appeared in a caregiver’s Facebook Live video is suing the home. Four nursing aids allegedly participated in a video of the resident, who is a stroke survivor with dementia. The lawsuit asserts that the video shows the resident in bed, holding a diaper, surrounding by employees who are harassing him. One of the caretakers is heard yelling “Take off your pants, [resident name].”

This example poses HIPAA concerns and abuse concerns. Without a patient authorization, it is a potential HIPAA violation to record the resident and share that recording with third parties. In addition, CMS made it clear in its Survey & Certification Memo 16-33 that humiliating or demeaning photos or recordings of nursing home residents are mental abuse.

Snapchat use leads to criminal charges