I work for a privately owned treatment center. A couple of weeks ago I was asked to go to another unit to help with an "uncooperative" patient. When I arrived the pt was not only not cooperating with the nurse on the unit but was being aggressive with the only MHW available. The pt was bleeding. I was left by the pt's nurse to help hold this aggressive pt who also attempted, without success, to bite me. To make a long story short - I was not told that this pt was in a contagious stage of hepatitis B. Later I found out that the nurse knew this and deliberately withheld this info from me as he was told by the infection control nurse according to HIPPA no one was to be given this info. Is this not an inaccurate interpretation of the HIPPA regulation? Shouldn't anyone who is caring for a pt with this diagnosis be given this info. After all, we are all bound by confidentiality. Am I confused or what?????:eek: