Privacy And Security Issues: Regional Health Information

Healthcare providers and patients have since been allowed to securely access and share medical information electronically using the electronic health information exchange (HIE) system, thus improving quality care, safety, cost and swiftness.

Health Information Exchange (HIE) has become a major component in today’s healthcare. Health information exchange provides a secure way for providers to appropriately access and electronically share a patient’s medical information. Therefore, reducing duplicate testing, minimizing medication errors and providing a link among electronic health records (EHR) in order to provide quality healthcare.

Healthcare technology has grown and evolved over time. With the conversion to electronic medical records and the creation of social media just to name a few, ensuring patient privacy is of the utmost importance for healthcare facilities in this day and age. In order for an organization to avoid hefty fines, it is imperative that a healthcare administrator maintains compliance with the standards and regulations associated with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This paper will provide a summary

Responsibility of the medical office specialist she must understand that she is under contract to keep the patients Health information (PHI) confidential. Managed care, and outlines the role of the medical office specialist he/she will have to organize (MCO) contracts. It also explains the importance of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) this person's role and responsibility of the medical office specialist in protecting all patients' protected health information (PHI) (Vines-Allen,D. 4/2015 pg 19). The Privacy Rule pertains to all PHI, including paper and electronic forms.

The high cost of healthcare continues to rise and many in the United States are optimistic for health information technology to reduce and improve our current situation. Health IT encompasses a broad array of new technologies designed to manage and share health-related information. When properly implemented, these systems can help coordinate patient care, reduce medical errors, and improve administrative efficiency. Therefore, implementing a Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) will help the National Health Information Network (NHIN) achieve their goals in improving quality of care for the citizens of the United States. Thus, in order for the health IT to deliver on its promise, several obstacles must be overcome.

At the level of the external environment, health information management in itself, as well as the people employed in the adjacent departments, are continually impacted by new standards, regulations and initiatives. The scope of these standards, regulations and initiatives is usually that of increasing the efficiency and quality within the health care system, "o provide a secure, nationwide, interoperable health information infrastructure that will connect providers, consumers, and others involved in supporting health and healthcare" (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services).

Health Information Exchange (HIE) supports both transferring and sharing of health related information that is usually stored in multiple organizations, while maintaining the context and integrity of the information being exchanged (HIE, 2014). The goal of health information exchange is to expedite access to and retrieve clinical data to provide safe efficient, effective, equitable, timelier patient-centered care (HIE, 2014). HIE “provides access and retrieval of patient information to authorized users in order to provide safe, efficient, effective, and timely patient care” (HIE, 2014).

A Health Information Exchange, or HIE, is technology that enables the electronic movement of health-related information among health care providers and others. HIEs are an

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.

Health Information Exchange is the electronic movement of healthcare information amongst organizations according to the national standards. HIE as it is widely known, serves the purpose of providing a safe, timely, and efficient way of accessing or retrieving patient clinical data. Health Information Exchange allows for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other vital healthcare professionals to have appropriate access and securely share vital medical information regarding patient care. Health Information Exchange has been in efforts of developing for over 20 years in the United States. In 1990 the Community Health Management Information Systems (CHMIS) program was formed by the Hartford Foundation to foster a development of a centralized data repository in seven different geographically defined communities. Many of the communities struggled in securing a cost-effective technology with interoperable data sources and gaining political support. In the mid-1990s a similar initiative began known as the Community Health Information Networks (CHINs) with the intention of sharing data between providers in a more cost-effective manner. In 2004, the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research Health Information Technology Portfolio was funded $166 million in grants and contracts to improve the quality and safety to support more patient-centered care. This was the beginning of the progress we have seen in HIE today. Health Information Exchange devolvement serves the purpose of improving

3.) Under HIPAA, covered entities (healthcare providers, health plans and healthcare clearinghouse) must comply with the privacy rules. A covered entity may develop its own privacy rules that would accommodate its own needs of protected health information (PHI) management but it most comply with the HIPAA guidelines. It is the responsibility of the entity to put in place a privacy official to oversee the policies, procedures and be on hand and available to be contacted in reference to the privacy rule. A patient should be given a privacy notice act at his/her health facility stating how their (PHI) is being used and to whom it will be shared. The covered entity should include in the notice their duty to assure the patients privacy as well as how and whom to contact if there is a complaint or they feel that their rights have been violated. As of 2009 the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) handles complaints that are made on privacy policies, procedure and practices of HIPAA covered entities.

Prior to the Information Age, medical records were all stored in folders in secure filing cabinets at doctor’s offices, hospitals, or health departments. The information within the folders was confidential, and shared solely amongst the patient and physician. Today these files are fragmented across multiple treatment sites due to the branching out of specialty centers such as urgent care centers, magnetic resonance imaging, outpatient surgical centers, and other diagnostic centers. Today’s ability to store medical records electronically has made it possible to easily send these files from one location to another. However, the same technology which can unify the fragmented pieces of a patient’s medical record has the ability to also create

The Health information exchange or also known as HIE is the sending of healthcare-related data electronically to facilities, health information organizations and government agencies according to national standards. The goal is to be able to access and retrieve data more efficient, safer, and to improve the quality of care and patient safety and reduce healthcare costs.

Great discussion post. Healthcare organizations are well aware of the urgent need to take action to curb the skyrocketing cost of healthcare services and one the measures being undertaken is to seek new approach to reducing the amount of duplicate orders, and redundant tasks that impact the overall cost of health care and can be highly influential in the overall patients well being. The problem encountered in the RHIO project is not that of lack of understanding of the need to share pertinent patient information, but rather the problem encountered in the RHIO project is lack of trust among its members, and the need for individual healthcare organization to maintain their competitive advantage. The members of the RHIO project are reluctant as

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.