Privacy Issues with Web-Based Medical Information
Abstract: With growing concerns about the privacy of personal medical information, the president has taken action and passed regulations attempting to protect this privacy. It should work well in traditional health care situations, but it questions still remain about how applicable it will be to health care on the web.
A hacker downloads thousands of medical records from the University of Washington Medical School [1]. Eli Lilly and Co. accidentally discloses the email addresses of 6000 patients who are taking Prozac [2]. With these incidents fresh in the minds of many people, the privacy of medical information has been a hot topic. It has joined other issues such as the confidentiality of financial records in the forefront of the American public’s consciousness. In April, 2001, President Bush made an unexpected move and gave the OK to Clinton-era rules that protect medical privacy. Much to the chagrin of the health care industry, Bush reversed his repealing of the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA), which requires doctors to get written consent from patients to share their medical information and allows patients to view their records and to amend them if necessary [3]. Commenting on the regulations, the President commented, “for the first time, patients will have full access to their medical records and more control over how their personal information will be used and disclosed.” [3] These regulations apply well to the physical world of health care, but when taken in the context of Web-based care, they become ambiguous, and even misleading, and fail to comprehensively protect privacy.
President Bush’s move to implement the rules was a sur...
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1. The Denver Post. November 20, 2001 Tuesday. First Edition. Pg C-01. “Web Health-Privacy Rules Help Few, Report Claims.” By Jennifer Beauprez
2. Exposed Online: Why the new federal health privacy regulation doesn’t offer much protection to internet users.” A Pew Internet Project report. Monday, November 19, 2001.
3. The Boston Globe. April 13, 2001 Friday. Third Edition. Pg. A-3. “U.S. Bolsters the Power of Patients to Guard Privacy of Personal Data.” By Anthony Shadid.
4. The Washington Post. February 10, 2001, Saturday. Final Edition. Pg A-10. “EEOC Sues to Halt Worker Gene Tests.” By Sarah Schafer.
5. www.healthprivacy.org/usr_doc/final%20Ooverview%20chart%2pdf. www.healthprivacy.org is the online manifestation of the Health Privacy Project, a program run by the Institute for Health Care Research and Policy at Georgetown University.
Phiprivacy.net. (n.d.). Incidents Involving Patient or Health-Related Data [Pdf file of privacy breach articles for 2008]. Retrieved from http://www.phiprivacy.net/MedicalPrivacy/Chronology_2008.pdf
...). Privacy and Health Information Technology. Journal of Law Medicine, 37(2), 121-149. Retrieved January 28, 2011 from CINAHL database
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.
Introduction The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, is a law designed “to improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage in the group and individual markets, to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and health care delivery, to promote the use of medical savings accounts, to improve access to long-term care services and coverage, to simplify the administration of health insurance, and for other purposes. ”1 HIPAA mandates that covered entities must employ technological means to ensure the privacy of sensitive information. This white paper intends to study the requirements put forth by HIPAA by examining what is technically necessary for them to be implemented, the technological feasibility of this, and what commercial, off-the-shelf systems are currently available to implement these requirements. HIPAA Overview On July 21, 1996, Bill Clinton signed HIPAA into law.
Friedman, D. J., Parrish, G., & Ross, D. A. (2013). Electronic Health Records and US Public Health: Current Realities and Future Promise. American Journal of Public Health, 103(9), 1560-1567
... Health Information Privacy For Consumers. Retrieved April 22, 2009, from U. S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html
In this paper, I will discuss my understanding of the differences between problem and pathological gambling as well as the differences in treatment. Research states that gambling began in the early 1600’s to the mid 1800’s (library.ca.gov). My readings have revealed that gambling, which can be defined as a game in which one can “win or lose money or possessions” (Merriam-Webster, 2015) initially started out as a form of recreation, however, in time it developed into a problem for some individuals.
With today's use of electronic medical records software, information discussed in confidence with your doctor(s) will be recorded into electronic data files. The obvious concern is the potential for your records to be seen by hundreds of strangers who work in health care, the insurance industry, and a host of businesses associated with medical organizations. Fortunately, this catastrophic scenario will likely be avoided. Congress addressed growing public concern about privacy and security of personal health data, and in 1996 passed “The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” (HIPAA). HIPAA sets the national standard for electronic transfers of health data.
The adrenaline-rushing feeling of gambling offers people the idea that opportunity lies within their hands. Unfortunately, there are far too many consequences to gambling to even begin to count. To win you must play, and to win big you must play big. As more gamblers can recall their losses rather than their winnings, gamblers are often dealt with poor hands and must play the risky game to stay alive. Even though gambling has so many faults, some still fall under its corruptions because of gambling’s deceiving fallacies.
In the modern era, the use of computer technology is very important. Back in the day people only used handwriting on the pieces of paper to save all documents, either in general documents or medical records. Now this medical field is using a computer to kept all medical records or other personnel info. Patient's records may be maintained on databases, so that quick searches can be made. But, even if the computer is very important, the facility must remain always in control all the information they store in a computer. This is because to avoid individuals who do not have a right to the patient's information.
Advances in technology have influences our society at home, work and in our health care. It all started with online banking, atm cards, and availability of children’s grades online, and buying tickets for social outings. There was nothing electronic about going the doctor’s office. Health care cost has been rising and medical errors resulting in loss of life cried for change. As technologies advanced, the process to reduce medical errors and protect important health care information was evolving. In January 2004, President Bush announced in the State of the Union address the plan to launch an electronic health record (EHR) within the next ten years (American Healthtech, 2012).
Freudenheim, M. (2010, December 13). Panel set to study safety of electronic patient data. The New York Times. Retrieved from Http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/business/14records.html?_r=1&sq=healthcare informatics patient records&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&scp=1&adxnnlx=1299414338-50ipQCu8c0TGV6j+8bTQUA
"Gambling Addiction and Problem Gambling: Signs, Help, and Treatment." Helpguide.org: Expert, Ad-free Articles Help Empower You with Knowledge, Support & Hope. Web. 12 May 2011. .
“Problem gambling, also known as gambling addiction or compulsive gambling, is defined as the urge to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop” (Northstar Problem Gambling Alliance 2015). Karen Frazier states, nearly 3 percent or 6 million adults and 500,000 teens meet the criteria for problem gambling (Frazier, 2015). Legalized Gambling has many positive aspects, and it should be noted that though a large number of citizens are considered “problem gamblers,” the majority of the population gambles causally and in moderation.
Papacharissi, Zizi, and Jan Fernback. "Online Privacy And Consumer Protection: An Analysis Of Portal Privacy Statements." Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 49.3 (2005): 259-281. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.