There has been a surge in the use of e-health based services creating challenges. Although electronic health records have many benefits, ethical issues arise in the use of information technology. Cyber Ethics is a code of responsible behavior while using the Internet (Know the Rules of Cyber Ethics, 2014). The fundamental concept of treating other people with civility applies online as it applies in everyday life. Healthcare organizations must be apprehensive about securing individual privacy and nurturing strong ethical behaviors. What are the ethical principles pertinent to e-health? How should healthcare organizations develop and promote ethics guidelines and codes of conduct for e-health based services such as websites, communication …show more content…
In such a case, an individual would be notified of some request to access their personal health information and in turn would authorize the information to be shared and/or released. Another approach is more of a protective action. This instance would have health professionals or information managers decide what makes for sound access and agree to act in the best interests of patients when access to health information requests are made. A different approach, normally used in the electronic medical record systems, is a general release to personal health information for access on a "need to know basis”. Still another method relies on the development of common, agreed upon rules for protecting confidentiality but still assisting with necessary information sharing. Useful criteria and on-line codes of conduct to help users understand the issue of quality and how personal information can be used by web sites are being developed by a number of groups. The Internet Healthcare Coalition’s e-Health Initiative (e-health Code of Ethics, 2000) announced the release of an international e-Health Code of Ethics. The e-Health Code of Ethics goal is to ensure that individuals can surely and with full comprehension of known risks realize what the impact of the internet would be in managing their own health or the health of persons in their care. “The e-Health Code of Ethics sets forth eight principles: candor, honesty, quality, informed consent, privacy, professionalism in online healthcare,
As the evolution of healthcare from paper documentation to electronic documentation and ordering, the security of patient information is becoming more difficult to maintain. Electronic healthcare records (EHR), telenursing, Computer Physician Order Entry (CPOE) are a major part of the future of medicine. Social media also plays a role in the security of patient formation. Compromising data in the information age is as easy as pressing a send button. New technology presents new challenges to maintaining patient privacy. The topic for this annotated bibliography is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Nursing informatics role is imperative to assist in the creation and maintenance of the ease of the programs and maintain regulations compliant to HIPAA. As a nurse, most documentation and order entry is done electronically and is important to understand the core concepts of HIPAA regarding electronic healthcare records. Using keywords HIPAA and informatics, the author chose these resources from scholarly journals, peer reviewed articles, and print based articles and text books. These sources provide how and when to share patient information, guidelines and regulation d of HIPAA, and the implementation in relation to electronic future of nursing.
Abstract: Electronic medical databases and the ability to store medical files in them have made our lives easier in many ways and riskier in others. The main risk they pose is the safety of our personal data if put on an insecure an insecure medium. What if someone gets their hands on your information and uses it in ways you don't approve of? Can you stop them? To keep your information safe and to preserve faith in this invaluable technology, the issue of access must be addressed. Guidelines are needed to establish who has access and how they may get it. This is necessary for the security of the information a, to preserve privacy, and to maintain existing benefits.
In an effort to further improve the Australian Health Care System, an initiative was formulated in December 2008 in the Australian Health Ministers Conference for a National E-Health Strategy. This aims to formulate consolidated medical information of all Australians with the aim of optimizing the quality and efficiency of health delivery through electronic communications and information technology to ensure the right health info at the right time and place in a manner that privacy is secured. This initiative was highly regarded as a major achievement of the incumbent government upon its complete realization.
According to the National Alliance for Health Information Technology (2008) and the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) (2012), the personal health record (PHR) is defined as the individual lifelong electronic health records. Its features are electronic, readily available, personal control, standardization, resource sharing, and portability. Although the PCEHR is currently being implemented in several countries of the world, it still has many controversial disadvantages. Hoy, Yoshihashi, & Bailey, 2012) mention that some of the ideal functions of PHR, include patient controlled, longitudinal record, interoperable and resource sharing, portability, automated input of clinical reports, as well as the integration of clinician workflow. "The PCEHR is aimed to be a secure electronic summary of people's medical history stored and shared in a network of connected systems from a central electronic hub (Australian Nursing Journal, Aug. 2012; Kerai, Wood, &Martin, March 2014)”. The Australian Government has clear legal provisions on PCEHR implementation, including the conditions of participation, target participants, methods and procedures of registration, informed consent, security requirements, penalties for violation of privacy and mitigation strategies (Australian Nursing Journal, Aug. 2012; Australia Government ComLaw, 2012; Williams, 2013; Wilson, 2012). However, The Australian (2013, September 17) notes that the Australia government has invested 1 billion on the project, but only 0.6% of people actually using this program registered at about 65 million electronic health record conditions.
The Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, better known as the Privacy Rule, that took effect in April 2003 for large entities and a year later for small ones, was established as the first set of national standards for the protection of health information. This rule was issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to meet the requirement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The Privacy Rule was born out of a need for health information to be appropriately protected yet still allowing the health information to be shared to ensure quality health care and to protect the public’s health and well being. It allows for the protection of the privacy of the patient and yet it also permits vital uses of information.
HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) was put in place by the Federal Government for several reasons; better portability of health insurance for employees, to prevent fraud and abuse within the healthcare delivery system, and simplification of administrative functions associated with healthcare delivery (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2012). Due to sensitive healthcare information being shared federal regulations were also put into place, resulting in the “Privacy Rule” and “Security Rule”. The Privacy Rule limits the use and disclosure of patient information. The Security Rule protects the patients’ healthcare information from improper use or disclosure, to maintain information integrity, and ensure its availability (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2012). Both regulations apply to protected health information (PHI) which is any form of health information that can be used to identify an individual patient. Practitioners who refer to HIPPA are not referring to the act itself but the “Privacy Rule” and “Security Rule” (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2012). It is extremely important to understand these concepts as a student in the clinical setting and how each hospital enforces these concepts. Before starting at any clinical site there is an extensive orientation about HIPPA regarding what is appropriate and not appropriate when it comes to patient information and the repercussions of violating HIPPA. In this paper I will discuss Akron General’s rules and policies regarding their EHR, PHI, EPHI, and social media.
Health information is regarded as one of the most sensitive types of personal information. For this reason, the Privacy Act 1988 provides extra protections around its handling. For example, a counselling organisation generally needs a client’s consent before they can collect their health information. The Privacy Act regulates how these organisations collect and handle personal information, including health information. It also includes provisions that generally allow a person to access information held about them. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) also regulates the handling of health information held in an individual’s eHealth record.
...). Privacy and Health Information Technology. Journal of Law Medicine, 37(2), 121-149. Retrieved January 28, 2011 from CINAHL database
Torrey, T. (2009, February 19). Limitations of electronic patient record keeping: Privacy and security issues. Retrieved June 29, 2011, from http://patients.about.com/od/electronicpatientrecords/a/privacysecurity.htm
The confidentiality of patient visits and medical records are essential in providing the highest quality of health care. Under penalty of law, a patient's medical records or any other information regarding the patient may only be released with his or her authorization. Exceptions to this are certain cases specified by law for example, health care providers are required to report certain communicable diseases such as measles. Many organizations and laws have been developed to maintain patient's rights of confidentiality and access to their medical record. Guided by the principle that confidentiality is essential in developing strong trust between patients and healthcare providers, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) members are committed to ensuring that patient records are disclosed and only available to medical personnel and others acquired by law. In July 1999, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), introduced a new Patient's Rights Condition of Participation (CPO) that hospitals must meet to be approved for, or to continue participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The Health Insurance and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) addresses the security and privacy of health data and also issues standards for electronic health care transactions. The vast accumulations of personal medical data gives rise to serious privacy concerns as a result of the potential for misuse.
Registered nurse (Gemma) received a call from the patient's wife (Lucinda) to ask her about her husband's condition and ongoing treatment details, like patient (Salvatore) treatment details, just to find further information about her husband's diagnosis on the internet. There is a breach of a patient's privacy and confidentiality if Gemma shares the information. Nurses are able to communicate about patient-related information with other health professionals via social media or other means of technology, i.e. telephone calls, in regards to patient care. However, this type of technology often leads to a breach of patient privacy and confidentiality (Berman et. al, 2015,
Health information opponents has question the delivery and handling of patients electronic health records by health care organization and workers. The laws and regulations that set the framework protecting a user’s health information has become a major factor in how information is used and disclosed. The ability to share a patient document using Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is a critical component in the United States effort to show transparency and quality of healthcare records while protecting patient privacy. In 1996, under President Clinton administration, the US “Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)” established national standards for the safeguard of certain health information. As a result, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 or (HIPAA) was established. HIPAA security standards required healthcare providers to ensure confidentiality and integrity of individual health information. This also included insurance administration and insurance portability. According to Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), an organization must guarantee the integrity, confidentiality, and security of sensitive patient data (Heckle & Lutters, 2011).
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA), Confidential Information and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA), and the Freedom of Information Act all provide legal protection under many laws. It also involves ethical protection. The patient must be able to completely trust the healthcare provider by having confidence that their information is kept safe and not disclosed without their consent. Disclosing any information to the public could be humiliating for them. Patient information that is protected includes all medical and personal information related to their medical records, medical treatments, payment records, date of birth, gender, and
1) What is critical reasoning, and how can it be applied to ethical issues involving cyber technology?
William Goossen’s theory can be applied in nursing practice to develop nursing informatics skills and knowledge, as well as develop technological system competencies among nurses to collect, process, retrieve and communicate pertinent information across health care organizations (Goossen, 2000). This theory is highly applicable in addressing matters related to electronic health records, which are currently characterized with issues of privacy and confidentiality in relation to storage, retrieval and reproduction of patient health information. The model also provides broad applicability in guiding research at any clinical setting and contributes to the discipline of nursing by simplifying and enhancing documentation and storage of patient’s health information and by allowing better utilization of nursing resources (Elkind, 2009).