The Importance of Health Information Privacy Bill of Rights

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

Patient’s fifth right is for respect and care without discrimination from all members in the healthcare field. The right to confidentiality and privacy of their health information is sixth on the bill of rights and addresses their right to read, copy and request corrections to their medical record, to talk privately their medical providers and be assured their healthcare information is secure. The seventh right is for patients to have a “fair, fast, and objective review of any health care complaints” (Consumer Bill of Rights and Responsibilities, 1998). And finally our eighth right as patients are our responsibilities we have as the consumer of healthcare services. Patients need to comply with the orders of the medical provider so they can get and stay well. As a patient you must treat other patients and healthcare workers with respect, pay your medical bills in a timely manner, and abide by your selected healthcare plans coverage. As patients become more involved in the total healthcare process they increase the success of their treatment while assisting in lowering associated costs without a reduction in the quality of the healthcare they receive.

The article, Keep Privacy in Health Records, was written by the Monitor's Editorial Board on February 2, 2009. It condemns some of the provisions of a House Bill that was passed by the ACLU and other privacy groups. According to this bill, data encryption would ensure that authorized persons are barred from accessing patient’s health records in the institution. Audit trails are also crucial in determining and tracking who accessed the records, at what time and what type of information did he/she get. Lastly, the patients should be allowed to see their records to improve their notification and strengthen enforcement in health institutions. However, despite these initiatives to improve accountability and confidentiality of patient’s records in most institutions, the board believes that the bill has not solved some of the privacy issues as far as patient health records are concerned.

This particular goal mainly focused on privacy of the individual. Invasion to privacy is strictly restricted and all the health information about the patient should be used with their consent only. Moreover every health system manager have aware about legal implications currently in practice to protect privacy.

Patient privacy has been a major concern for patients and medical staff for many years. Patient privacy goes hand in hand with HIPPA and the privacy rule. This protects the privacy of any person of all health information (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Even with this a concern for many, a study conducted by Zogby Internation studies more than 2000 adults to obtain their views on patient privacy. This studied determined that individuals would rather have individual choice and control over personal health information instead of others (Patient Privacy Rights, 2010).

Both the HIPAA and Bill of Right significance to the healthcare system all around the United State because of the strict guideline that were implemented to make the healthcare facilities a better place; for both patients and healthcare officials. These two laws that have been implemented, they have been the corner stone for many years. Those have helped balance the right for patients, physicians, nurses and others officials who are working in different healthcare facilities.

In 2003, a federal law that provided privacy and security protection was imposed upon all healthcare organizations including hospitals, physician practices, health insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid, employers, and labs, as well as other providers. With passage of this law all patients now have a right to their PHI -Protected Health Information- under HIPAA which includes the right to receive a notice of privacy practices, to copy and view information in their medical record, request amendments, receive an accounting of disclosures, request communication about medical matters, restrict the use and disclosure of their medical record, and to file a complaint about violations of privacy (Modifications to the HIPAA, 2013).

The security and privacy of personal health records has been a long standing concern of providers and patients alike. However, this concern has developed into a large scale lack of continuity for patient’s most private health information. Dr. Deborah Peel, a physician and Freudian psychoanalyst, is a long standing advocate for the improved rights and control of personal health information. She notes that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) does not protect health data, but creates commercializing of health information (Peel, 2014) and is no longer about patient care. In past years it was easier to maintain custody and control of hardcopy patient health records. The misconception is that this data is safely guarded

A patient’s right to privacy is one of the most important and protected elements of healthcare today. Patient health information is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and even more so by the HIPAA Privacy Rule. “The HIPAA Privacy Rule is a key federal law governing the privacy and confidentiality of patient information.” (Brodnik, Rinehart-Thompson, Reynolds. 2012 pg. 215.) The law governing patient privacy has two goals, “to provide an individual with greater rights with

In this paper, I will discuss the principles that permit disclosure of protected health information with or without the patient’s consent for each of the four categories, government agencies, legal agencies or representatives and research groups. I will also state whether I feel privacy safeguards are adequate to support those principles.

Patient’s Bill of Rights essentially guarantees treatment to the recipient, as well as all full disclosure, and consent to care. This illustrates that the power and level of care is in the individuals hands. Furthermore, a new Bill of Right was enacted with the Affordable Care Act in 2010 much of what was outlined gave new patients protection against insurance company’s (“Rights” 1). This is important because it only strengthens the

Privacy and confidentiality are basic rights in our society. Safeguarding those rights, with respect to an individual’s personal health information, is our ethical and legal obligation as health care providers. Doing so in today’s health care environment is increasingly challenging (OJIN, 2005).

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.

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