Professionalism : What Does It Truly Mean?

. HIPAA privacy rules are complicated and extensive, and set forth guidelines to be followed by health care providers and other covered entities such as insurance carriers and by consumers. HIPAA is very specific in its requirements regarding the release of information, but is not as specific when it comes to the manner in which training and policies are developed and delivered within the health care industry. This paper will discuss how HIPAA affects a patient's access to their medical records, how and under what circumstances personal health information can be released to other entities for purposes

What does Professionalism mean to me? Professionalism in my term means it is someone who is very dedicated to their profession. It is an important and great decision to follow by the rules and ethics of professionalism. If we did not have anyone that cared about their profession it would cause a lot of problems in our society today. It could cause a lot of disruption in your workplace. In order to abide by professionalism you must take pride in your job, percieve realistic goals and values, and know what your expectations are.

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, (Health Insurance and Portability Act of 1996) outlines rules and regulations and the rights of patients to access their healthcare information such as, notifications of privacy practices, copying and viewing medical records, and amendments. This paper explains why confidentiality is important today and discusses recourses patients can use if they believe their privacy has been violated. This paper will also discuss criminal and civil penalties’ that can occur for breaking HIPAA privacy rules.

Today, healthcare professionals diligently work to follow patient confidentiality and HIPAA standards. In chapter 10 in the section titled “What are the obligations to patient under HIPAA” was intriguing. All healthcare professionals have a moral and legal responsibility to the patient under The Health Insurance Portability Act (HIPPA) of 1996, when HIPPA was enacted by congress and signed by Present Bill Clinton in 1996 as a law. Most in healthcare were skeptical on how this law would impact the system. Also, people questioned if HIPAA would actually make any improvement in privacy protection for the patient. The HIPAA Privacy Rule has helped to create a culture of compliance within today’s healthcare. Initially, healthcare professionals

One of the issues surrounding the HIPAA law was written by Dr. Richard Sobel (2007) he stated that HIPAA is often described as a privacy rule, but it is not. He further explained that, “it is a disclosure regulation, and it has effectively dismantled the longstanding moral and legal tradition of patient confidentiality.” The other issue about this public act was expressed by Harman (2005) saying that “HIPAA has introduced the public to practices for the release of information

Peel’s interpretation of the HIPAA regulation is that “HIPAA does not protect privacy” (Peel, 2014). She explains that health data is continuously being bought and sold between multiple different agencies and that data breaches are due to a policy problem and not a technology problem (Peel, 2014). This stance on the lack of privacy and security under HIPAA is an accurate point of view. Amendments to the HIPAA in 2002 included eliminating required consent for PHI disclosure, changing the policy for obtaining patient consent allowing for the free oral communication between doctors to discuss patients’ PHI, clarifying the current physician’s discretion to provide or deny access to children’s health records, restricting PHI for marketing purposes or use by parties not directly involved in patient care, and provisions for providers regarding billing and business practices (Norman, & Burroughs, 2002, p. 865-866). These amendments that eliminate the need for patient consent further degrade the lack of protection of PHI. Dr. Peel challenges the medical community to expose the continuous transfer of vital patient records between third party corporations in an attempt to draw attention and make a positive change toward proper security of patient’s

It has always been the job of health care providers to maintain doctor-patient confidentiality. Not only is it a legal obligation it is also an ethical obligation to many doctors, nurses, physician’s assistants and many other medical staff. Until recently medical records were primarily recorded on paper and stored in cabinets and locked in what was believed as a secure room. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act also known as HIPAA, was passed on August 21, 1996. Although the law was passed in 1996 it did not become effective until April 14, 2003. This was due to the fact that “Given that Congress did not act to produce these within the timeframe specified by the law the secretary at the Department of Health and Human

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is divided into five titles. Title I is health insurance portability, title II is administrative simplification, title III is medical savings accounts and health insurance tax related provisions, title IV is enforcement of group health plan provisions, and title V is revenue offsets. HIPAA affects many features of health care, including providing the privacy rights of patients for release of financial and medical information without written consent. No information can be sent to employers, medical institutions, or financial institutions. The patient must also state who can receive their medical information. This will paper discuss and conclude the HIPAA privacy rule.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) listed two privacy provisions, which include patients having the ability to access their medical records and healthcare providers informing how their personal medical information will be conducted. First, the benefits of patients having the right to access their medical information to assure that their medical information is accurate. In addition, patients can ask their healthcare provider to take satisfactory steps to make sure that patients’ information is confidential, unless patients give the healthcare providers the right to exhibit their information in a professional manner. Second, the second privacy provision of the HIPPA allows patients the right to file a complaint against

Everyone hides behind a mask of what they want others to know, but when that mask is removed, the private information nobody wants leaked spills out. Until 2003, there was no mask protecting the confidentiality of peoples’ most private information, their private medical history. Before this time, patients had no right to protect their medical information, and no control over who could access it. The HIPAA Privacy Rule locked away the once open book of patients’ medical information in a safe solely controlled by the patient. This federal law, created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, became the “first federal healthcare information privacy law”, and addresses patients’ rights pertaining to their medical information (Solove 5). In order for patients to continue to have medical privacy and control over their medical records, the HIPAA Privacy Rule needs to remain a strongly enforced federal law.

The HIPAA Security and Privacy Rules mandate that healthcare providers and organizations and their respective business associates abide by HIPAA rules when they create and follow procedures that must be transmitted, obtained, handled, or shared. In addition, during these processes, the confidentiality and security of all protected health information (PHI) must be achieved and maintained (Hernandez, 2015). Moreover, there are instances when PHI can and cannot be disclosed. Stanford (n.d) differentiates between information that is “shared” and “disclosed.” Shared applies to PHI utilized within the covered entity; whereas, “disclosed” pertains to PHI shared outside of the covered entity (Stanford,

Everyone is entitled to confidentiality unless they give permission for someone else to see their information or they can no longer make decisions on their own (for example, if they are confused or comatose). A federal law, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act applies to most health care physicians and its guideline, known as the Privacy Rule. The Privacy Rule sets specific rules regarding privacy, access, and disclosure of information. For example, HIPAA specifies the following:

Everywhere you go and in everything you do, professionalism comes in to account in some way or another. Professionalism has been defined as, “a strict adherence to courtesy, honesty and responsibility when dealing with individuals or other companies in the business environment” (Clarke, 2015). When it comes to the career of nursing, professionalism is taken to a whole other level. Not only does professionalism come in to account with your business professionals and peers, but you have patients with whom professionalism is highly practiced as well. Professionalism in nursing means that you are able to handle all the responsibilities given to you in an efficient and proper way. It means that when you are given an order that needs to be carried out by a doctor or a patient who needs your help, you adhere to what is being expected of you in a timely manner. Physicians put trust into nurses in order to carry out orders that are needed to save patients’ lives. If you’re not looked at as professional and responsible, it is going to be very hard to have a successful career. Responsibility is what nursing is all about. Professionalism in nursing means that along with taking on big responsibilities, you have discipline. Discipline in nursing is crucial to being successful. Not only to keep your patients safe, but so that you personally are on the ball and looked at by others as professional, therefore, making you a great nurse. Professionalism means that you have the

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines professionalism as the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person. Yet the White Paper on Pharmacy Student Professionalism says it is displaying values, beliefs and attitudes that put the needs of another about your personal needs. There is still another definition. The Medical Professionalism Project says professionalism is the basis of medicine's contract with society. It demands placing the interests of patients above those of the physician, setting and maintaining standards of competence and integrity, and providing expert advice to society on matters of health. In my opinion, a person's attitude, values, and behaviors