Ethical Considerations of Health Information Management

The Canadian Health Information Management Association Code of Ethics outlines a powerful standard for Health Information Management Professionals. When one becomes a member of CHIMA along comes the responsibility of following the code of ethics as faithfully and professionally as possible. Although the interpretation of the guidelines can vary among individuals and organizations, the basis and underlying meaning of each code should be synonymous. The ten codes set general expectations for HIM professionals that help the public understand the ethical views of CHIMA. With these ethics in place we are able to decrease the number of breaches, improve data quality and encourage lifelong learning. There are a number of breaches that occur in healthcare settings that go unreported on a daily basis. The reason for these cases going unreported could be the lack of knowledge of severity and consequences, or have a malicious intent. The case study is a definite breach of the CHIMA code of ethics- and could fall into numbers 1-10, but in my opinion is more relevant to numbers 2-3, 5-7 and 9. Jane should have acted in a more proactive manner reflecting CHIMA values and informed the appropriate individuals so that they correct actions could be made.

Health information is an important source of information and evidence when the services provided are communicated in legal and professional documentation. It is a documentation which is a legal requirement and a record of the beneficiary’ care as well as a communication vehicle between other disciplines and providers. It not only ensures the services provided to individuals but is a crucial tool to support reimbursement of services and a basis for research. Incomplete and improper documentation potentially may lead into a denial of payment for services as well as question’s the quality of care provided.

There is no doubt in that technology has multifaceted benefits but, at the same time, it has forced mankind to feel insecure. Every industry depends upon the data of the customers and the health industry is no more an exception here. The data of each patient is shared to facilitate health itself and for more rigorous and authentic research. Hence, protecting patient data is very important. It is so important that in 1996, the federal government introduced the Health Insurance

Not protecting data integrity and when it is available - any healthcare institution should realize that it is necessary to protect healthcare data's confidentiality and that protecting the integrity and availability of the data is also important.

There are three major ethical priorities for electronic health records: privacy and confidentiality, security, and data integrity and availability. The key to preserving confidentiality is making sure that only authorized individuals have access to information. The process of controlling access begins with authorizing users. The user’s access is based on pre-established, role-based privileges. Hence, designating user privileges is a critical aspect of medical record security: all users have access to the information they need to fulfill their roles and responsibilities, and they must know that they are accountable for use or misuse of the information they view and change.

Under the HIPAA Security Rule, health care providers are required to conduct an accurate and thorough analysis of the potential risks and vulnerabilities. Protecting the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and privacy of data in health care is very important. For a risk analysis, health care providers would prioritize risks based on the severity of the impact that it would cause their patients and practices (Security Risk Analysis TipSheet, 2014). In addition, identifying the potential threats to patient privacy and security (Security Risk Analysis TipSheet, 2014). A risk analysis process would include determining the likelihood and impact of potential risk to electronic protected health information, implementing security measures to

Data privacy is vital to healthcare organizations and the health information they store. Johns (YEAR) defines data security as “a collection of protection measures and practices that safeguard data, computers, and associated resources from undesired occurrences and exposures” (p. 207). To protect their information, organizations must develop a data security program to meet the needs of Health Information Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA), stakeholders, and the business’s needs. Additionally following the guidelines set by HIPAA is key to being in compliance with the law. These programs differ depending on the organizations that are required to establish them, however, they all follow the same steps in creating and implementing this program

In today’s health care industry providing quality patient care and avoiding harm are the foundations of ethical practices. However, many health care professionals are not meeting the guidelines or expectations of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) or obeying the organizations code of ethics policies, especially with the use of electronic medical records (EMR). Many patients fear that their personal health information (PHI) will be disclosed by hackers or unauthorized users. According to Carel (2010) “ethical concerns shroud the

Health information management professionals ensure that patient information under a provider’s care is correct, complete, and safe (Gartee, 2011). Patient health information is sensitive and must be handled only by trained professionals with experience in the field. HIM professionals such as the Registered Health Information Administrators manage employees in the HIM department that work with patient information. Registered Health Information Administrators must “Possesses comprehensive knowledge of medical, administrative, ethical and legal requirements and standards related to healthcare delivery and the privacy of protected patient information” (“RHIA”, 2015), In addition, the RHIA role is actively involved with the forms control process and involved with all units that utilize patient information in any way (Gartee, 2011).

Dr. Kemp defines an electronic medical record (EMR) as “the digital version of a paper chart that contains all of a patients ' medical history from one practice” (Kemp, 2014). He also differentiates between the use of the term electronic medical record (EMR) and electronic health record (EHR). An EHR is more “comprehensive” than an EMR. It allows for data sharing across multiple practices. The use of both EMRs and EHRs has gained in notoriety in the last decade. And it appears that the use of these two terms is interchangeable. The idea of data sharing and having one’s health records at the click of a button is highly appealing. While there are several ethical implications to explore when dealing with computerized charting, the objective for this research review will focus primarily on three interesting concepts: autonomy, finance, and privacy, as it relates to information technology.

There are many legal and ethical issues that come with working in the health care sector. In order to protect the public the government often places many laws to protect the information and privacy of patients from being misused. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA as it is known is such law that was implemented in order to maintain the security and privacy of patients. The HIPAA Privacy Rule provides federal protections for individually identifiable health information held by covered entities and their business associates and gives patients an array of rights with respect to that information. The Privacy Rule is balanced so that it permits the disclosure of health information needed for patient care and other important purposes. The Security Rule specifies a series of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for covered entities and their business associates to use to assure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic protected health information (www.hhs.gov., n.d.). The health care administrators of today are charged with keeping up with the many compliance and regulations associated with the HIPAA privacy act. The legal and ethical responsibilities that come with their roles are a difficult one. Administrators must aide in safeguarding patient’s information and stay within the guidelines and regulations as directed by the governing bodies that enforce these rules. With this in mind we must also examine the role of

It is important for the both the patient and health care provider to understand what information is being protected, as to avoid any security breach. This protected information included any information in various medical records, patient conversations with all health care professionals about care and treatment, billing data, and a majority of other information regarding patient health. Any patient has the right to see and receive a copy of any health records, request correction be made to a variety of health-related information, control over who the medical records are shared with,

Their duties include planning the information system, developing the health policy to suit this system and identifying the present and future information requirements. These professionals use informatics to collect, store, use, and transmit information in such a way that the expert, legal, and organizational record keeping needs of the healthcare institutes, are met. They also ensure appropriate collection, management and application of information within the healthcare system for purposes of effective detection of health problems and for identifying inventive solutions to improve health outcomes.

The first principle is that with very few exceptions, health care information about a consumer should be disclosed for health purposes only. The information should be easy to use for those purposes, and very difficult to use otherwise. The second principle is that technical security safeguards be maintained for computerized data. Including audit trails that identify who accessed the data and the prosecution against anyone who used the records for illegal or improper purposes. The third principle is consumer access. The patient should have ability to access his or her records and know others that also have access to them. Patients should be aware of the laws, regulations, and policies that protect their information. The fourth policy is defined as accountability, which is of relation to security and consumer control. Fines and imprisonment are required to those who breach security of personal health information. The final policy is public responsibility. Legislation must be balanced between personal, private interests and national priorities of public health, research, and law enforcement. The excessive flow of information, without patient authorization, is essential to the immediate discovery and investigation in public health crisis. AHIMA's acknowledgement of these five principles are abroad outline of a sensible public policy that balances personal privacy

In light of available security measures and their widespread acceptance within the information security community, there is no excuse for healthcare organizations to fail in fulfilling their duty to protect personal patient information. Guaranteeing the confidentiality and privacy of data in healthcare information is crucial in safeguarding the data of patients as there should be a legal responsibility to protect medical records from unauthorized access.