A staff nurse was entering patient's clinical notes in the computer, and had to leave to attend an immediate call without completion of recording…

The situation describes a breach of confidentiality, which occurs when private patient information is

accessed or disclosed without proper authorization.

Negligence: This refers to the failure to provide the standard of care that a reasonably prudent

person would provide in a similar situation, but it doesn't specifically address unauthorized access to

patient information.

Malpractice: This is a type of negligence by a professional, which results in harm to the patient, and

usually involves direct patient care rather than record-keeping issues.

Breach of Privacy: This involves the inappropriate disclosure of private information. In this case,

using someone else's account does not directly disclose patient information to unauthorized parties.

Breach of Confidentiality: This specifically addresses the unauthorized access or use of patient

information, which is exactly what happened when another nurse used the first nurse's account to

enter notes.

Reference:

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Guidelines

American Nurses Association (ANA): Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements