As a therapy dog we are required to follow HIPAA laws when visiting facilities. One of which is that we cannot take photos of patients - unless they ask. One cannot share photos with patients in social media or elsewhere, unless the patient agrees or it is for a publication like a newspaper and agreed upon. One cannot ask about medical conditions - unless someone volunteers it - and then when a patient does, one cannot ask probing questions, nor repeat what has been heard. There are a lot more rules and also issues and rules at each different location I visit that we follow. In this case, I was visiting patients at the hospital and received a special request to visit a family whose patient loved dogs. Especially chihuahuas - as they had recently lost their own. Upon arriving, the family told me the patient was away getting treatment, if we could come back before leaving for the day. We returned later only to find the patient was not back. The family asked me to lie on the patient's bed so they could tell them "Piranha was Here" as they think I am a celebrity dog of some type. :) Of course, I obliged. This was a first for me... I was even getting a little sleepy... ZZzzz
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You may not be able to see it, but I have a towel underneath me as a barrier.
I use a new one for each patient. |
