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Recommended: Concltion about hipaa
Based on the scenario, the lab technician, as well as the physician, are required to report the findings of this patient’s lab results. Both the CDC and the state of Florida have mandatory reporting requirements. According to the CDC, Syphilis is communicable disease that can greatly impact our population. There is mandatory reporting to help protect the public. The physician must submit reporting according to the CDC and the lab who ran the test must also report the results. The CDC requires physicians and facilities to follow the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) guidelines. These guidelines contain recommendations, reports, and surveillance summaries for mandatory reporting (Mandatory Reporting, 1990). According to HIPAA guidelines, the lab facility and physician has the right to disclose the patient’s Syphilis information under the “Using and Disclosing Your Health Information” law for the purpose of protecting the public. However, the patient has several rights such as; right to access, right to request confidential communications, and right to complain for privacy rights violations (Patients’ Rights, 2016). …show more content…
Since both the lab tech and physician are top performers, I wuld issue a verbal warning because it would be their first offense of being non-compliant. I would reiterate that our facility could face serious fines at both the state and federal levels. I would also host an all employee meeting as a fresher to prevent future misreporting’s. The CDC also requires that each state must follow up with their health department. Below are the guidelines for Florida State and the CDC. I have attached the reporting form for the state of Florida that must be submitted. Reporting’s can also be done through a hotline but must also be followed up by filling out the
In 1932 the United States Public Health Services was responsible for monitoring, identifying, ways to treat sexually transmitted diseases in all US citizens. Public health service was sponsored by Rosenwald Fund; identified Macon County, Alabama had the highest rate of male population infected with the Syphilis. So the Tuskegee Institute was approached to study the effects of untreated syphilis on a black male population for duration of six to nine months and then follow-up with a treatment plan. The research was led by Dr. Taliafero Clark, six hundred Macon County men, 399 with syphilis and 201 who weren’t infected, were enrolled to be part of the study.
In looking at these instances, the doctors seemed to have thought their actions normal. They thought that since they were treating the patient they automatically had access to their cells, tissues, DNA, that they could take without permission and use to develop science or to even become rich and famous like Dr. Golde tried to do. One might say that no matter how useful a person's biological property can be to western medicine and science, it does not excuse the violation of privacy of a patient. Ostensibly, there is no need to worry about a patient saying no if the doctor has moral and beneficial intentions for the use of a patient's private, biological
Upon receiving the positive results for Syphilis, we are required to report it to Florida’s Department of Health regardless of the patient’s influential position. According to the Florida Administrative Code 64D-3 from the Department of Health, practitioners and laboratories are required to report communicable diseases by the following business day. The Florida Administrative Code 64D-3, which is regulated by Florida Statute Chapter 120, is the rule that addresses communicable diseases and conditions that may have a significant impact of public health.
It has come to our attention that a breach of confidentiality has occurred in our office. One of our patient’s has filed a complaint regarding a breach of his (PHI) patient health information. The breach occurred when two of our employees were discussing the patient’s HIV status in a common area in the presence of his mother. This is unacceptable and is a violation of the HIPAA Laws and our policies. Fortunately, the patient’s mother was aware of her son’s condition and there were no other patients within earshot. Let me make this clear, this was an unauthorized release of patient health information and we are obliged by law to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Not only is it a privacy issue but also a violation of the patients civil rights. We will address our expectations of our staff in regards to PHI and what safeguards will we improve to guarantee that this does on happen again. We will review our policies, HIPAA and the conditions for HIV/AIDS patients and the consequences for this breach in confidentiality.
Everyone makes mistakes, so it is perfectly fine to admit to it. I feel that if you make a mistake and do not say anything, the consequence will be far worse then actually taking ownership of your actions and letting them know you have learned from it. Now this can be taken a step further. Who do you tell? Do you tell the physician, your manager, or the patient? The answer is everybody needs to know. Especially if it affects the patient. A simple mistake can greatly impact the patient by choosing not to disclose the event. Depending on the situation, it can even cost the patient their life. We also have to protect ourselves. Our license that we worked so hard to earn and maintain will be put in jeopardy. Our license holds great value and should not be put on the line due to ones pride. We should not be afraid to seek help in aiding us on when or how to reveal our mistake. We should also be humble enough to seek advise on how to fix or prevent a similar mistake from happening again in the
This case presents a very delicate situation that presents many legal and ethical questions. Do you tell your brother his partner has HIV? I would tell my brother, but the how and when, may vary based on circumstance. From a professional ethical standpoint, it would be unethical to disclose the patient’s HIV status without consent. It would violate the patient’s right to confidentiality, as it is the patient’s choice whom information may be shared with (Beemsterboer, 2010, p. 50). It could also be argued that it is a violation of the principle of nonmaleficence. By providing the patient’s HIV status to people unbound by HIPAA, you are putting the patient at risk of discrimination. This could cause mental anguish or psychological issues, therefore, in essence, inflicting harm on the patient. The most valued application of nonmaleficence is, “One ought to not inflict harm” (Beemsterboer, 2010, p. 42). This would outweigh the ethical argument that you are also preventing harm to your brother, another less important application of nonmaleficence (Beemsterboer, 2010, p. 42). There is one professional ethical principle that I would argue was being applied. This being the principle of paternalism, stating that healthcare providers should do what they deem best for the patient according to their ability and judgment (Beemsterboer, 2010, p. 47). If the patient had a sexual encounter with the brother, and did not inform him of her HIV status, she may be arrested for reckless endangerment according to Pennsylvania law. A case where an HIV-positive person did not disclose their status to their sexual partner was brought before the Pennsylvania Superior Court. According to Pennsylvania law, “Disclosure of HIV status is a defense ag...
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.
The issue being discussed is if the doctor is doing the right thing if they betray the patient to help them get better, or if they are doing the wrong thing since the patient only told that information under the promise of confidentiality. While maintaining confidentiality is very important in a physician-patient relationship there are some things that cannot be kept secret. Cases like child abuse or self/public
To stop the spread of HIV and another STD’s the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, DHEC has drug treatment, testing, and sex education and safety programs. For these programs to be successful t is mandatory that STD cases be reported. According to Legislative Services Agency (LSA), (1996), South Carolina physicians must report all known or suspected contagious or infectious disease cases to the county health department within twenty-four hours. When reporting cases, the patient’s name, address, and the nature of the disease must be submitted. The LSA (1996), also states the county health department must report all cases of infectious and contagious diseases as have been reported during the preceding month to DHEC. “Physicians that do report cases will be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one hundred dollars or be imprisoned for a period not exceeding thirty days” (LSA, 1996). Not only are physicans reliable for reporting cases, the pharmacist also has a duty to report cases. A pharmacist must report any unusual or increased prescription rates, unusual types of prescriptions, or unusual trends in pharmacy visits that may cause harm, death, and permanent or long-term disability. “The reports of conditions must be made in the form and manner as prescribed by DHEC in regulations concerning infectious diseases. The reports must be made to the Bureau of Disease Control in the manner required in the regulations” (LSA,
Doctor Benny Waxman was a found to be an AIDS victim in 1991, he was a surgeon who practiced medicine but did not tell his patients he had AIDS. He died in 2012. After his death some people argue that his patient’s hold be told and others say that the surgeons AIDS status should not be disclosed to those he gave medical care. Should a patient disclose his/her AIDS status to the treating phasician, should the provider disclose his AIDS status to his patients? HIPPA privacy
The family of a deceased victim, Miss Kimberly Bergalis, pushed for laws mandating that healthcare workers be tested for AIDS and required to tell patients of positive results (Altman, 1993). I believe this to be an unfounded and unethical request. I personally believe that healthcare workers should be entitled to the same confidentiality rights as other patients. Requiring health care workers to report HIV status to patients, would effectively end their career and livelihood. Imagine if a healthcare provider contracted HIV while treating an infected patient. The time, money, and hard work put into obtaining that career would be all for nothing. If the workers had to tell patients that they had HIV, they would have to tell the employer, and would never get hired. Would it be fair for providers to have the option to refuse treating patients based on HIV status, to protect healthcare workers? It would be considered unethical, and the proposed sanction call for this question. If a healthcare provider practices proper infection control and abides by the principle of nonmaleficence, then no issues should arise. This is an idealist viewpoint. However, it is supported by journalistic investigations of Lawrence Altman of the New York Times. ...
The practitioner may have a personal or family relationship with the individual and may want to approach in a less heavy-handed manner in order to maintain the relationship with that patient. Trust and respect are key. Principle twelve says our approaches need to maintain the trust within the community. Trust is a big deal as health practitioners and the community. Without trust, we might not be able encourage that patient to get tested or to help the patient if infected. In Principle two, respecting the right of an individual could possibly mean that the patient who is positive has the right to the privacy of his or her sexual activity. One may want to appeal to the guilt of the individual to do the right thing and share the information in order to coax it from them instead of the hardline approach. Public health ethics helps guide practical decisions affecting population or community health based on scientific evidence and in accordance with accepted values and standards of right and wrong. By principle eight that addresses that we public health practitioners should employ a variety of approaches that anticipates values, culture and believes. This may have to consider not using a heavy-handed approach on out patients.
General Health Service (PHS) led an examination on 399 black men in the late phases of syphilis (Brandt, 1978). Originally These men were predominantly uneducated tenant farmers from one of the poorest regions in Alabama. They were never recounted their syphilis determination or the earnestness of the illness. Educated that they were being dealt with for "ill will" rather, their specialists had no aim of curing them of syphilis over the span of the review. The information for the investigation was to be gathered from post-mortems of the men, and they were accordingly left to decline under the desolates of propelled syphilis—which can incorporate tumors, coronary illness, loss of motion, visual impairment, madness, and demise. "As I see it," one of the specialists included clarified, "we have no further enthusiasm for these patients until they pass on" (Jones, 134). The genuine way of the trial must be kept from the subjects to guarantee their collaboration. The tenant farmers' absence of instruction and low salaries made them prime focuses for the trial. Satisfied at the possibility of free therapeutic mind—none of them had ever observed a specialist before—these unsophisticated and trusting men turned into the pawns in one of, if not the most, untrustworthy human examinations (Brunner,
As we agreed upon maintaining confidentiality of employee’s medical test information, many of our employees have concerns in terms of disclosing their health problems and physical condition with the organization.
If a patient believes that their health information has been exchanged without their consent, they have the right to file a complain to the provider or the Office for Civil Rights (Flores, & Doider, 2005)