A nurse witnesses a family request HIV test results of a patient without the patient’s consent. What legal charge could be filed against the nurse?

• A. Invasion of privacy
• B. Battery
• C. Negligence
• D. Slander

Answer: (A)

Protecting patient privacy and confidentiality is a fundamental obligation in nursing practice. When a family requests HIV test results without the patient’s consent and the nurse shares that information, the nurse is disclosing private health information without authorization. This unauthorized disclosure constitutes an invasion of privacy—a civil or criminal concern because it violates the patient’s right to control sensitive personal information. HIPAA and professional standards require keeping health information confidential and releasing it only with patient consent or a lawful exception.

The other options don’t fit as well: battery involves unlawful physical contact, which isn’t at issue here; negligence would require a failure to use reasonable care that leads to harm, not simply sharing information; slander involves making false statements about someone that damage their reputation, which isn’t what occurred in this scenario. Invasion of privacy best captures the legal violation in this case.