Ethical Issues In Health Care Informatics

In the health care business, there are certain standards and laws that have been put in place to protect our patients and their personal health information. When a health care facility fails to protect their patient’s confidential information, the US Government may get involved and facilities may be forced to pay huge sums of money in fines, and risk damaging their reputation.

Although the EHR is still in a transitional state, this major shift that electronic medical records are taking is bringing many concerns to the table. Two concerns at the top of the list are privacy and standardization issues. In 1996, U.S. Congress enacted a non-for-profit organization called Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This law establishes national standards for privacy and security of health information. HIPAA deals with information standards, data integrity, confidentiality, accessing and handling your medical information. They also were designed to guarantee transferred information be protected from one facility to the next (Meridan, 2007). But even with the HIPAA privacy rules, they too have their shortcomings. HIPAA can’t fully safeguard the limitations of who’s accessible to your information. A short stay at your local

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was intricately designed to provide not only a more efficient health care system but also as a protection for private patient information and data. With the widespread use of technology and computers in hospitals, the availability of patient information, their health portfolio, and their previous care has greatly improved the efficiency of health care. However, this also means that there is greater leeway for that information to be lost and/or shared without patients consent.

The breach of patients’ confidential information does not only jeopardize our reputation and reduce the public trust in our organization, it could also lead to severe financial consequences. Under HIPAA law, if an organization is found guilty of unauthorized disclosure of patient medical record, they could face prison time harsh privacy violation penalty. We are sure that none of us want this to happen to our organization. So how can we prevent medical record security leak and better protect our patients’ privacy while also providing the best care possible to all our patients? The following guidelines and

This affects the delivery of healthcare in that the information needed by providers, physicians, medical staff, and the patients themselves, may not be delivered correctly, timely, and of course securely. Various systems will be discussed and each how they affect healthcare delivery, in particular Electronic Health Record (EHR), Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) (also sometimes referred to as Computerized Provider Order Entry).

The significance of patient privacy and the security of confidential information are increasingly vital given the approval of electronic health records. Healthcare providers have recognized striking prices due to security threats and subsequent breaches. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2002), under the Privacy Rule healthcare establishments must establish protections that establish procedures and rules that guarantee least levels of privacy in relation to patient information. When violations are recognized, it is required that a compliant be created by the individual or unit experiencing the violation. In the complaint, the name of the person who participated in the violation, in addition to the nature of the violation, must be comprehensive. The filing of the complaint initiates an investigation by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under HIPAA values (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). The establishment of a procedure related to privacy violations has resulted in many cases relating to electronic data breaches. Next is a consideration of two such cases to demonstrate the role of privacy in regards to HIPAA and electronic health database breaches.

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.

Another downfall or disadvantage of using this software is the concerns of client’s security. Most individuals think a disadvantage would be the security vulnerability for the client’s medical records. The ultimate concern is that hackers are still out there and may steal client’s personal information and possible compromise their identity. It does not matter how many password encryptions, security features added, and firewalls are put up, hackers can get in there. However, there are also companies that specialize in security measures for the maintenance of Electronic Health Records software.

In this paper we identify security risks surrounding Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and discuss strategies healthcare providers can employ to mitigate those risks. We begin with a brief overview of the legislative history driving the rapid adoption of EMR and other health information technology.

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

Privacy of health information has become an area of emphasis across the healthcare industry. It is important to understand what data is protected under federal regulations, how it can be shared, and how to prevent any accidental exposure of protected data. It is possible that data that should be protected can be exposed without anyone even realizing a violation has occurred. Exposure of protected healthcare data can result in medical identity theft and is therefore a very important and hot topic. The security and privacy of healthcare data is necessary to ensure consumer confidence in the healthcare industry and to prevent medical identity theft.

Data breaches have become common nowadays especially in the healthcare industry. For example, a number of hacking events have been reported in the past years (Croll, 2007). Such events in the healthcare industry, have threatened the safety of private medical records. Since the healthcare environment posses the most valuable information of patients, they are the establishments who are most likely to suffer from hackers. Most importantly, patients worry about their confidential data being safe and secure (Dimitropoulos, 2009). Now that hospitals are adapting new technologies and are leaving paper charts behind, EMR (electronic medical records) are on the rise. With EMR systems, there is need to

The department of Health and Human Services protects and guides the health and well being of individuals here in America (Thacker, 2014). They fulfill these duties providing Americans with adequate and efficient health and human services and monitoring services designed to increase the efficiency of care in the health system (Thacker, 2014). One of the services being monitored by the department of Health and Human Services is the electronic health record system, which carries private and vital information of patient’s health record enabling all eligible participating health workers access to these records (Thacker, 2014). A breach of the protective health information of patients in a health organization creates chaos as these are against the health insurance portability and accountability (HIPAA) law (Thacker, 2014). Hence, measure will have to be put in place to determine what caused the breach and how to rectify it to ensure the breach never happens again (Thacker, 2014).

In a world full of electronics it would only seem logical to have health records electronic. Not only are medical records efficient, reliable, and quick to access, new technology allow patients to access their own personal medical records with a simple to use login and password. “People are asking whether any kind of electronic records can be made safe. If one is looking for a 100% privacy guarantee, the answer is no”(Thede, 2010). At my hospital, upon every admission we ask the patient for a password for friends and family to have to have if they would like an update on the patient 's condition. We do not let visitors come up and see the patient without the patient 's consent. In doing these things, we help to ensure the safety and protection of the patient 's health information and privacy.

Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are now exercising a more significant impact on healthcare practices than ever before. The United States healthcare system stands on the brink of a new age of electronic health information technology. The potential for innovation within this new technology represents a great opportunity for the future of medicine. However, in seeking to implement EMRs caution must be exercised to ensure that implementation does not have adverse effects on the personal nature of the patient-physician relationship an important issue that must be addressed in order preserve the integrity of healthcare in the new electronic age.