Page 49 of Dr. Alaska
Back at the house and on the trail, he hadn’t seen her face.
Mav had implied that she was an EMT. Not a hospital worker.
There was no receptionist on duty this Saturday to identify her. She considered the ring-bell-for-nurse sign next to the ED registration desk, close to where Randy paced.
Lee’s heart jumped, but she ducked her head and walked with purpose through the waiting area to the empty nurse triage room and sat at the desk like she worked there.
Activating the intercom button, she listened intently. Randy’s voice drifted back to her. “Yeah, with the lawsuit, we’re going to get it this time. When I’m done, it’ll be pennies on the dollar. From there on out, it’ll be pure profit.”
A wave of ice worked through her veins. No way. Lee must have misheard. Must be imagining a connection.
They couldn’t have faked the injury for litigation. Keeping the intercom open so that she could hear the conversation, she did her best triage nurse impression and acted like this room was her entire job. She logged into the computer on the desk and moved the mouse around. Then she pulled up the x-ray. Yep. Midshaft tibial fracture. Nothing fake about that finding.
“Oh, he’ll be fine.” Randy’s voice came though the intercom.
He was one of those people who didn’t realize how loudly they were talking or didn’t care because they thought that it made them sound important. Too bad she would use his loud mouth to her advantage.
“It was more damage than we planned, but that’s even better.” He paused and sniffed. “Sure, we’ll give him a little extra for his trouble. Nick’s my nephew. I’ll make it his birthday gift.”
Lee studied the ceiling at the fisheye that hid the security camera for the small room in which she sat. There was at least one camera in every area of the hospital, recording images and audio 24/7. Even in the waiting room. Could she request footage? Or record Randy?
Doing so might be a crime.
Thanks to her ex’s false claim against her to her previous employer, Lee had next-level knowledge regarding patient privacy law. In Georgia, digital images with security cameras could be recorded, but it was a felony to record a private conversation in a private place. There was a recent case involving a hospital where the court interpreted that felony to include recordings of private conversations on medical facility premises.
Problem was, Lee didn’t know Alaska’s law, and now wasn’t the time for legal research.
If she obtained any sort of recording of Randy and it was a crime in this state, she risked being charged with a felony and the evidence thrown out. Also, doctors convicted of a felony couldn’t participate in Medicare and state Medicaid programs and couldn’t obtain hospital privileges, which would effectively end her ability to work as a physician.
She froze, heart hammering beneath her ribs.
Flashbacks of being called up to the chief medical officer’s office back in Georgia, along with the HR director, and the hospital’s CEO raced through her mind. She hadn’t done anything wrong then, and still Preston had almost gotten her fired because of the HIPAA violation claim.
She walked a tightrope without a net here in Yukon Valley. If she ran afoul of HIPAA law, there would be no do-overs. No more locums assignments. No income.
Over the intercom, Randy kept bragging.
God, she hated bullies.
But she needed her job.
Damn it.
Her palms sweated. So. Whatcouldshe do that was legal?
Lee sat up straighter and looked at the answer right in front of her on the computer screen. The medical record.
She was the treating physician. She could document into the medical record any informationregarding her patientthat pertained to the condition being treated.
Documenting a history of present illness complete with relevant quotes from the patient or others who were present during the injury wasn’t a crime. Lee grinned, even as adrenaline zipped heated jolts through her. Careful documentation was not a crime at all—it was part of thorough medical care.
Hate to miss any details that could help my patient, right?
Nearly breathless with her plan, Lee pressed a finger to her lips and listened in as Randy continued his conversation. The topic had changed to travel logistics down to Anchorage. She took in a few slow breaths, waiting for him to cycle back to Nick’s part in the scam.
If she recorded damning information in the patient chart, then what?
Nothing that could harm her but also nothing she could share. Legally, she could not pass along her knowledge that the patient was going to sue Maverick. Doing so would violate HIPAA.
