A nurse discovers that a discharge summary containing protected health information was faxed to the wrong number. The unintended recipient calls immediately and says the pages were destroyed. Complete the confidentiality response.
Drop-down Rationale
Choose your responses, then check the answer.
Explanation
The nurse should stop any further disclosure, preserve the facts, and immediately notify the supervisor and designated privacy or security contact according to policy. The report should objectively identify what was sent, to whom, when, how the error was discovered, and what containment steps occurred without altering the record or assigning blame. The covered entity's privacy team performs the required assessment and determines notifications or other actions under applicable law. A recipient's statement that pages were destroyed is relevant containment information but does not allow the nurse to conceal the event or declare that no breach occurred.
Correct Answer Contain the disclosure, notify the designated supervisor and privacy process immediately, preserve an objective account, and allow the authorized privacy team to determine the required assessment and notifications.
Why It Fits Misdirected protected health information requires a prompt organizational response. The nurse contributes accurate facts and containment actions but does not independently make the legal breach determination.
Clinical Picture The recipient's destruction of the pages may reduce exposure but does not erase the disclosure. The organization still needs the recipient, information type, amount, safeguards, and mitigation facts.
Memory Link Contain, report, preserve the facts, and let the privacy process assess.
NCLEX Rule Protect confidentiality without hiding an error. Follow the designated process and limit further disclosure to what is necessary for response and care.
Why the Alternatives Fail Deleting documentation destroys the audit trail. Calling the event harmless without review exceeds the nurse's role. Contacting unrelated people spreads information further, and waiting until discharge delays containment and assessment.
Source
1HHS HIPAA Breach Notification Rule
2HHS Safeguards for Fax and Electronic Disclosure
32026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan
The client is safe and still hospitalized. The nurse follows the organization's privacy and incident-response process and does not decide alone that destruction of the pages eliminates the disclosure or all reporting duties.
Protected health information — Individually identifiable health information protected under applicable privacy requirements.
Containment — Immediate actions that limit further access, use, or disclosure while preserving facts for assessment.
Breach risk assessment — An authorized organizational review of the nature, recipient, acquisition or viewing, and mitigation of an impermissible disclosure.