The social media has affected many different aspects of our practice in the healthcare. Social media and mobile phones have become an integral part of our daily life. Our everyday lives are being recorded and shared with or without our permission. Technology is an essential part of our clinical practice and continually improving to do more impressive things. Along with the advancement in technology, our thinking process and culture is also changing. Healthcare used to be a safe harbor of privacy and technology has brought its own concerns to privacy of patients. Recently the use of technology in different aspects of healthcare by patient and provider has increased the legal responsibility, with financial consequences, for any adverse occurrence. …show more content…
The professional code of ethics obligates the healthcare workers to maintain the confidentiality.1 The law recognizes confidentiality as a communication privilege between the patient and healthcare provider. Confidentiality not only covers all the information patient reveals but also the conclusion of the practitioner based on the evaluation. Electronic Health Record (EHR) and meaningful use of EHR changed the way we use and store health information in my clinical facility. In my preoperative patient holding area, computers are installed in every single room. Usually, family or friends accompany the patient’s arriving at the preoperative area. The EHR is the most amazing aspect of the digital transformation of medicine, where the healthcare worker can access all patient health information. Upon login to our information system, the screen will display the operating room schedule including the patient name, procedure and surgeon name. Once we login to the patient specific information, all the health information regarding the patient is displayed on the computer screen without any screen shield. The patient may not want to disclose all their health information to the people accompanying them. I think visible information screen to any personnel other than the patient is against our confidentiality ethics against the patient. Not …show more content…
My observation in my clinical setting is an example of the lack of safety culture in the organization. Laws and regulations require appropriate safeguard to protect the patient health information. There are set limits and conditions for the disclosure of such information without patient authorization. The HIPPA, other state and federal laws, mandates for a healthcare organization, their business partners, and vendors to maintain privacy and security compliance. A stronger leadership and organizational policies and procedures are the key factors for the maintenance of the privacy and confidentiality of healthcare information. Healthcare professional has a trusted relationship with their patients and healthcare providers are responsible for maintaining confidentiality of their health
Schmeida, M. (2005). HIPAA of 1996: Just an Incremental Step in Reshaping Government. Retrieved January 25, 2011, from American Nursing Association Web Site: http://www.nursingworld.org
According to the report provided by the consultant, the employees at this facility were not taking precautions in safeguarding the patient’s health information. Therefore, the employees at this facility were in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). It is important for employees to understand the form of technology being used and the precautions they must take to safeguard patient information.
All health care employees will do everything within their power to protect the patient’s right to privacy. This means they will follow the HIPAA law closely. They will disclose information that is relevant to a specialist or treatment. Also, means they will release information that a patient has asked for as promptly as possible.
Overall these sources proved to provide a great deal of information to this nurse. All sources pertained to HIPAA standards and regulations. This nurse sought out an article from when HIPAA was first passed to evaluate the timeline prospectively. While addressing the implications of patient privacy, these articles relate many current situations nurses and physicians encounter daily. These resources also discussed possible violations and methods to prevent by using an informaticist and information technology.
... of potential threats such as unauthorized access of the patient information. Health care leaders must always remind their employees that casual review for personal interest of patients ' protected health information is unacceptable and against the law just like what happened in the UCLA health systems case (Fiske, 2011). Health care organizations need clear policies and procedures to prevent, detect, contain, and correct security violations. Through policies and procedures, entities covered under HIPAA must reasonably restrict access to patient information to only those employees with a valid reason to view the information and must sanction any employee who is found to have violated these policies.In addition, it is critical that health care organizations should implement awareness and training programs for all members of its workforce (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2013).
Confidentiality is a major topic within care environments. When it comes to deciding what information is shared and who it is shared amongst can be difficult. Confidential information, is information that is ‘not to be told to anyone’ (The Open University, 2015, p. 58). Information that is sensitive or not publicly known is confidential, also if information is given by a person who is in a setting where confidentially is expected then that information should remain private and not shared with others. It can be very difficult for a staff member to find the balance between knowing what information is confidential and appropriate information that needs to be shared between the staff team.
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 offender feeling any malice towards the victim for example gossip and curiosity. Gossip in a medical office can have devastating effects on a health care facility’s reputation. Employees engaging in idle chatter to pass the time can inadvertently be overheard by patients or family members. Simply not using the patient’s name may not be enough if the person overhearing the conversation sees the resemblance. Professional behavior should be exercised at all times and juvenile behavior such as spreading gossip, has no place in a business that relies on its credibility. This rule will impact the way patient medical records are handled because we know the seriousness of it. Hospitals that don’t enforce HIPAA rules will have negative repercussions. The patient can have irreversible damage done to their view on the medical field and that hospital if their information is not treated with care. They may even feel so violated that they bring litigation against the hospital.
In the modern era, the use of computer technology is very important. Back in the day people only used handwriting on the pieces of paper to save all documents, either in general documents or medical records. Now this medical field is using a computer to kept all medical records or other personnel info. Patient's records may be maintained on databases, so that quick searches can be made. But, even if the computer is very important, the facility must remain always in control all the information they store in a computer. This is because to avoid individuals who do not have a right to the patient's information.
HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) was put in place by the Federal Government for several reasons; better portability of health insurance for employees, to prevent fraud and abuse within the healthcare delivery system, and simplification of administrative functions associated with healthcare delivery (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2012). Due to sensitive healthcare information being shared federal regulations were also put into place, resulting in the “Privacy Rule” and “Security Rule”. The Privacy Rule limits the use and disclosure of patient information. The Security Rule protects the patients’ healthcare information from improper use or disclosure, to maintain information integrity, and ensure its availability (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2012). Both regulations apply to protected health information (PHI) which is any form of health information that can be used to identify an individual patient. Practitioners who refer to HIPPA are not referring to the act itself but the “Privacy Rule” and “Security Rule” (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2012). It is extremely important to understand these concepts as a student in the clinical setting and how each hospital enforces these concepts. Before starting at any clinical site there is an extensive orientation about HIPPA regarding what is appropriate and not appropriate when it comes to patient information and the repercussions of violating HIPPA. In this paper I will discuss Akron General’s rules and policies regarding their EHR, PHI, EPHI, and social media.
These days’ health care systems are using social media to improve quality and safety of overall health care delivery, through access to information. Nurses as well as patients can get deta...
There is a great importance and focus in modelling a contemporary nurse. The framework for improving this focus is accountability with three main areas: professional, ethical, legal. They all cross over and interlink with each other in many of the topics that are raised within the profession. The approach of the framework were inevitable to reduces to blame and defensive nursing attitude. This attitude can lead to nurses believing accountability is the same as blaming a professional however it is conversely nurses making decisions for individuals and engaging to improve better health outcomes. The topic around this contemporary approach is confidentiality and broken into the principles of the approach.
It is right of a patient to be safe at health care organization. Patient comes to the hospital for the treatment not to get another disease. Patient safety is the most important issue for health care organizations. Patient safety events cost of thousands of deaths and millions of dollars an-nually. Even though the awareness of patient safety is spreading worldwide but still we have to accomplish many things to achieve safe environment for patients in the hospitals. Proper admin-istrative changes are required to keep health care organization safe. We need organizational changes, effective leadership, strong health care policies and effective health care laws to make patients safer.
Technology is having a significant role in various professional positions and will contribute in dictating the future of care delivery. Privacy is
Smart phones and social media in the health care field presents opportunities and growth advancement but also comes with many consequences and challenges. Health care organizations have regulated the use of smartphones and posting confidential information on social media such as HIPPA, which have laws intact if violated these laws may lead to termination or fines. The patient’s privacy and confidentiality is important when creating such policies, to maximize work efficiency and to create a safe environment. Furthermore, health care staff need to ensure that their patient care standards aren’t compromised by the use of these devices or social media postings.
Therefore, the student nurse stated that knowing and being careful with what you post and share is a must. Because even just by an accident press or even if it is private, there are hackers and cyber bullies out there that could easily change your life. The same in clinical placement, if social medias have privacy setting, so does the patients. Therefore, the student nurse stated that protecting patients confidentially and privacy is a must.