Medical professionals should always value a patient’s ethical right to privacy and confidentiality. Under the HIPPA law, there are still concerns with the protection of patient privacy; therefore, healthcare professionals must confront the growing technological environment and find ways to increase access security, as well as discipline employees that violate a patient’s privacy. Electronic health records can be beneficial to providers from a cost and efficiency standpoint, but are patients really better off with a paperless system?5
Privacy relates to people; confidentiality relates to data. A patient has a right to privacy and confidentiality concerning their mental and physical medical records. The term privacy has been defined as an
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Healthcare providers are able to communicate easier via electronic medical records and under the HIPPA law it is illegal to release patient information to other non-healthcare professional parties. HIPPA states, “covered entities are required to protect the confidentiality or integrity of medical information stored in electric records.5
Confidentiality extends past privacy and protects identifiable data. So, what is considered confidential patient information? Confidential patient information consists of Protected Health Information (PHI). The PHI contains the patient’s demographic information, social security number, diagnoses codes, medical record number, name of doctors, conversations between healthcare providers, billing information, images of the patient, and medications. Confidential information is seen electronically in a patient’s medical record everyday and sometimes employees forget how important it is to keep a patient’s information confidential. Mental and physical conditions, treatment plans and daily notes are documented in electronic medical records.
The healthcare industry benefits from Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Electronic software is used to store and transfer patient health records. The advances in technology allow healthcare professionals to access and share patient medical history. Such a system may decrease health care costs, increase the quality of patient care, facilitate better departmental communication, create less paper confusion,
When confidential patient information is disclosed without consent it is a violation of the HIPAA Title II Security Rule. This rule was enacted in response to private information being leaked to the news and emails containing privileged information were read by unauthorized people. Identity theft is a real concern so patient privacy should be taken seriously. This is a rule can easily be broken without the
The main goal of HIPAA is to protect unauthorized access and misuse of confidential health information. It allows for the safe storage of any health facts used, collected, transmitted or maintained by any health organization. It states that all health information about a particular client is completely confidential, regardless of what the format is and whether it is transmitted, maintained or collected. Protected information is that health information that already identifies the patient or could be used in order to identify the patient; it also relates to any of the patient’s past, present or future health conditions, any treatment the patient receives and any payment the patient makes toward their care.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed by congress in 1996, and helps to ensure the privacy and security of Electronic Health Records (EHR's). By following the rules and regulations set forth under HIPAA, we can ensure the safety of patients' EHR's. We are responsible for protecting patients' records, and there are many measures we can take in order do this. Firstly, we must always keep patients' health information private. This means no discussing the records with people that are not authorized to know, and even then, we should only disclose the minimum necessary amount of information possible. For covered entities, we must designate a privacy and security officer to ensure the privacy
Data Protection Act: Patient information has to be kept private. Health care professionals and their affiltes must not allow unauthorised access to sensitive patient information. The Health information portability and accountability act of 1996, also known as HIPAA, contains a clause designed to protect patient privacy. The rules ensure that health care professionals take prudent steps to protect the confidentiality of communications with individual patients. Patients can also request that health care professionals correct may inaccurate person health information in their records.
“The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 made it illegal to gain access to personal medical information for any reasons other than health care delivery, operations, and reimbursements” (Shi &ump; Singh, 2008, p. 166). “HIPAA legislation mandated strict controls on the transfer of personally identifiable health data between two entities, provisions for disclosure of protected information, and criminal penalties for violation” (Clayton 2001). “HIPAA also has privacy requirements that govern disclosure of patient protected health information (PHI) placed in the medical record by physicians, nurses, and other health care providers” (Buck, 2011). Always remember conversations about a patient’s health care or
It is important for all health care recipients and health care providers to read information regarding HIPAA that way everyone will be informed of what rights are privacy they are entitled to and the workers are aware of what information needs to remain confidential. People can receive handouts regarding information about HIPAA, as well as the Internet. There are hundreds of online websites that people can go to in order to receive more information on how HIPAA works and what is required to ensure everyone follows the laws that go along with HIPAA. Breaking the law can have some major consequences so it is important to understand HIPAA and what privacy laws are enforced to protect a patient’s information. The information that is
Confidentiality in the Healthcare arena can be simply defined as the moral and ethical duty of the Practitioner to keep all the patient’s bio-data under lock and key, and offer a disclosure of those facts that the patient is legally mandated to disclose or deems fit to enhance their positive health outcome. According to the Segen’s Medical Dictionary, “Confidentiality is the ethical principle that a physician may not reveal any information disclosed in the course of medical care, unless the patient who disclosed that information poses a threat to him, herself or others’’
HIPAA requires nurses and nursing students to keep patients’ medical records confidential at all time. For instance, I used computer to review patient’s diagnosis, I made sure that I signed off the computer after using it. I also made sure that all the information I brought home with me did not include patient’s name and other information that identify patient identity.
Any patient that is seen by a physician within the United States is to be protected by the “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” or HIPAA, which was passed into law in 1996 (Jani, 2009). All health care facilities dealing with any protected health information (PHI) are to ensure that all physical/electronic processes are safeguarded from any third party entity or unauthorized personnel according to HIPAA. All health care data to include any medical insurance
Confidentiality is considered a core value or principal in the medical practice. Confidentiality is a right that all people have within the medical field. This is the requirement of health care providers to keep a person’s information exclusive unless the patient or the person consents in the form of a release to share that information with other people that practice. Usually the consent is given when a doctor wants to consult with a different doctor for example. In this case it would be for the betterment of the person.
“The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 made it illegal to gain access to personal medical information for any reasons other than health care delivery, operations, and reimbursements” (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 166). “HIPAA legislation mandated strict controls on the transfer of personally identifiable health data between two entities, provisions for disclosure of protected information, and criminal penalties for violation” (Clayton 2001). “HIPAA also has privacy requirements that govern disclosure of patient protected health information (PHI) placed in the medical record by physicians, nurses, and other health care providers” (Buck, 2011). Always remember conversations about a patient’s health care or treatment is a violation of HIPAA. “All PHI is included in the privacy requirements for example: the patient’s past, present or future physical or mental health or condition; the provision of health care to the individual, or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual, and that identifies the individual or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe it can be used to identify the individual” (Buck, 2011). Other identifiable health information would be the patient’s name, address, birth date and Social Security Number (Keomouangchanh, 2011). (Word count 197)
Electronic medical records can benefit patients in many ways. One major way it can benefit a patient is the efficiency of the records being organized and easy for any practitioner or staff member to read. EMR can lower the risks of
Besides the disadvantages of (EMR)’s the advantages pose great benefits to patient care and efficiency. The greater use of electronic medical records or health records can reduce wait times, of seeing doctors or waiting for test results. All staff would need to cohesively work out the technical challenges and software data. With sophisticated IT
Knowing the difference between privacy and confidentiality can be confusing. Privacy is the right of individuals to keep information about themselves from being disclosed; that is, people (our patients) are in control of others access to themselves or information about themselves. Patients decide who, when, and where to
The correlation of increased potential patient rights violations and sensitive personal health data among electronic medical records than paper records is growing at an alarming rate. An estimated 52,000 public comments was reviewed by the Department of Health and Human Services requiring privacy regulations governing individually identifiable health information since the passage of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1966 (HIPPA). The individually identifiable health information includes demographic data that relates to the individuals past, present, or future physical or mental health condition. In addition, the provision of health care rights of the individual, confidentiality, protection of