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physician patient confidentiality laws
secueity safeguards for electronic medical records
secueity safeguards for electronic medical records
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Medical Record Security In the world of technology there are many types of threats to be considered when a hospital or health care facility depends on keeping their clients personal information private and safe from unauthorized people from viewing. When information safety, and regulations are considered by a healthcare facility it is held at high regards and high standards to assure that there is no chance of any information being leaked that should have been protected. A patients personal information should be kept safe from any unauthorized person from viewing, because a patients personal medical records can be used maliciously if it is viewed by anyone who is not authorized to view the information. In the healthcare field the patient’s charts and information is usually stored in a computer data base, or in an offsite storage facility and are considered confidential. The medical records should be indexed and place on recorded in inventory. The only people who should have access to a patient’s medical records is any medical professional that is working directly on their case, patient, guardian, or their legal representative. Courts can order the disclosure to a patient’s specific health information that is going to be use in some kind of court case or hearing. Any mishandling or misuse of a patient’s medical record is considered a legal liability to the facility. All healthcare facilities should have administrative and technical safety measures in place to protect vital patient information. The safety measures should be capable of protecting all of the patient’s privacy. Healthcare facilities should train their staff the meaning of the privacy policies and procedures, so that all appropriate measures are taken to assure the... ... middle of paper ... ...e telemedicine applications. Unpublished manuscript, Concurrent Engineering Research Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown , West Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2233549/pdf/procamiaafs00001-0381.pdf Robertson, A D (Nov 2010). Inventory is key to off-site record storage: new HIPAA rules demand tighter retention practices. Health Management Technology, 31, 11. p.26(2). Retrieved December 02, 2010, from Nursing and Allied Health Collection via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do?prodId=PPNU&userGroupName=birm6829 Woodward, C. (Oct 19, 2010). United States medical privacy rules deemed inadequate. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 182, 15. p.1604(2). Retrieved December 02, 2010, from Nursing and Allied Health Collection via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do?prodId=PPNU&userGroupName=birm6829
Overall these sources proved to provide a great deal of information to this nurse. All sources pertained to HIPAA standards and regulations. This nurse sought out an article from when HIPAA was first passed to evaluate the timeline prospectively. While addressing the implications of patient privacy, these articles relate many current situations nurses and physicians encounter daily. These resources also discussed possible violations and methods to prevent by using an informaticist and information technology.
. HIPAA privacy rules are complicated and extensive, and set forth guidelines to be followed by health care providers and other covered entities such as insurance carriers and by consumers. HIPAA is very specific in its requirements regarding the release of information, but is not as specific when it comes to the manner in which training and policies are developed and delivered within the health care industry. This paper will discuss how HIPAA affects a patient's access to their medical records, how and under what circumstances personal health information can be released to other entities for purposes not related to health care, the requirements regarding written privacy policies for covered entities, the training requirements for medical office employees and the consequences for not following the policy.
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.
According to HIMSS The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a longitudinal electronic record of patient health information generated by one or more encounters in any care delivery setting. It includes information from patient demographics, medications, to the laboratory reports. Introduction of Electronic Medical Records in healthcare organizations was to improve the quality care and to lessen the cost by standardizing the means of communication and reducing the errors. However, it raises the “eyebrows” of many when it comes to patient confidentiality and privacy among healthcare organization.
Today, you have more reason than ever to care about the privacy of your medical information. This information was once stored in locked file cabinets and on dusty shelves in the medical records department.
Disclosing confidential patient information without patient consent can happen in the health care field quite often and is the basis for many cases brought against health care facilities. There are many ways confidential information gets into the wrong hands and this paper explores some of those ways and how that can be prevented.
Medical Center data is extremely important to keep very secure. Hackers may have the ability to alter treatments to be initiated to paitients if they are able to alter documents: paitients must be informed therefore and agree with all treatment protocols to be initiated. If patients are correctly informed about their treatments they can be given the ability to remember and know when things have changed. Uninformed patients may not even know the details of their treatments, this cannot happen. Don't assume that hackers will not try to do things of this nature if they can. In addition people may hire hackers to do certain things: medical centers cannot rely on their electronic systems alone, because if they do..
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.
2. When should the patient be advised of the existence of computerized databases containing medical information about the patient?
How would you like to keep track of your personal health information record in your computer at home? The electronic data exchange was one of the goals of the government to improve the delivery and competence of the U.S. healthcare system. To achieve this plan, the U.S. Congress passed a regulation that will direct its implementation. The Department of Health and Human Services is the branch of the government that was assigned to oversee the HIPAA rules. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 is a national public law in the United States that was created to improve health insurability, prevent insurance abuse and to protect the privacy and security of a person’s health information.
The law does not give permission to the health care professionals to disclose the medical information of the patients. It is the right of a patient to have his or her personal identifiable information to be confidential. This medical information is suppose to only be available to the physician of record as well as other necessary health care and insurance personal. Confidentiality of patient was protected by federal statute, as of 2003. Passing of federal regulations which was the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was facilitated by the requirement of having privacy as well as protection of personal records and data in an electronic medical records environment and third party insurance payers.
Each time a patient visits a doctor, is admitted to a hospital, goes to a pharmacist, or sends a claim to a health plan, a record is made of the confidential health information. The use of this information is protected and pieced together by state laws, which leave gaps in the protection of patient's privacy and confidentiality. Together all of the programs mentioned are developing strategies to better protect patient records. AHIMA members foresee daily conflicts and challenges dealing with patient confidentiality and access to their records. The resolution of these issues combined will one day result in a comprehensive national standard that will enhance individual privacy, foster research and protect the public health.
Patient confidentiality is one of the foundations to the medical practice. Patients arrive at hospitals seeking treatment believing that all personal information will remain between themselves and the medical staff. In order to assure patients privacy, confidentiality policies were established. However, a confidentiality policy may be broken only in the case the medical staff believes that the patient is a danger to themselves or to others in society. Thesis Statement: The ethics underlying patient confidentiality is periodically questioned in our society due to circumstances that abruptly occur leaving health professionals to decide between right and wrong.
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