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. The lab technician and the physician are required by the Florida Department of Health to report the findings to the local health office. The lab technician who identified the results needs to contact the local health office to submit the results electronically. According the Florida Administrative Code 64D-3, the reporting of the specimen by the laboratory does not neutralize the physician from their obligation to report the disease. Therefore, the physician is required to report the results to the local health department by completing the Department of Health Disease Report Form. By reporting the results to the local health department we are …show more content…
According to the Florida Statute Chapter 381.005 the information may become public if it is necessary for public health with the intent of preventing outbreaks. Furthermore, all of the information that the Department of Health obtains is confidential and exempt from the provisions of the Florida Statute 119.7 and Article I 24a from Florida’s Constitution. Both the Florida Statute 119.7 and Article I 24a allow the copying, inspection, and access of records, therefore the patient is exempt from these provisions. During the process of reporting communicable diseases the patients are protected from any public release of their medical
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.
Prior to the beginning of the study, the doctors decided to withhold the official diagnosis from their patients. Instead, of telling the patients that they were infected with syphilis they chose to tell them they had bad blood. This was a decision made as a group, however, the provider’s individual reasoning was different. Miss Evers wanted to tell them
1. Wake County health officials are claiming that social networking apps are partly to blame for the sharp increase in syphilis cases around the area. According to the state Department of Health and Human Services, As of Friday, March 18th, there has been a recorded 1,113 early syphilis infections that were diagnosed in 2014, in the entire state as well as county, which is a 62 percent increase from the previous year, when 688 cases were reported. The article states that Wake County saw a total of 233 reported cases of syphilis last year, marking a 15-year high. A Wake County public health division director by the name of Sue Lynn said that when patients who contracted syphilis were interviewed in Wake County, many said they met their partner
. 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 not related to health care, the requirements regarding written privacy policies for covered entities, the training requirements for medical office employees and the consequences for not following the policy.
“The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 made it illegal to gain access to personal medical information for any reasons other than health care delivery, operations, and reimbursements” (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 166). “HIPAA legislation mandated strict controls on the transfer of personally identifiable health data between two entities, provisions for disclosure of protected information, and criminal penalties for violation” (Clayton 2001). “HIPAA also has privacy requirements that govern disclosure of patient protected health information (PHI) placed in the medical record by physicians, nurses, and other health care providers” (Buck, 2011). Always remember conversations about a patient’s health care or treatment is a violation of HIPAA. “All PHI is included in the privacy requirements for example: the patient’s past, present or future physical or mental health or condition; the provision of health care to the individual, or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual, and that identifies the individual or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe it can be used to identify the individual” (Buck, 2011). Other identifiable health information would be the patient’s name, address, birth date and Social Security Number (Keomouangchanh, 2011). (Word count 197)
Doctors, nurses, and medical assistants these people are supposed to ensure our safety and wellbeing, yet a small error can leak private information. That is why HIPAA was enacted in 1996, and became effective in the year 2001. HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA serves to protect you and your medical files. You can decide when and with whom your information can be shared. Also, you can ask for your medical record and make sure it is correct, if it’s not you can file a complaint. HIPAA is valuable to keeping your medical files protected, but you may ask does it really work?
Throughout the ages, while the origins to this day continue to be debated, the strength and potency of the disease have rarely been in question. Syphilis, while not viewed as a huge threat due to a decreased number of cases in the mid-late 1990s, needs to be taken more seriously by the public because it is more dangerous than many realize, especially because it is extremely contagious, it is extremely elegant in the symptoms it produces, it has played a larger part in history than many would think, and there is a certain stigma which surrounds the disease, which in turn pushes individuals away from receiving the necessary testing.
Today, you have more reason than ever to care about the privacy of your medical information. This information was once stored in locked file cabinets and on dusty shelves in the medical records department.
6. Should individuals and organizations with access to the databases be identified to the patient
You should follow the Hospital’s policies and procedures, which may prohibit your access to such records. The better practice is to notify your supervisor of the fact that the arriving patient or the patient you are assigned to provide care and treatment is your child, spouse, coworker, neighbor or friend.
Which is very important for nurses or any medical professional to do in the healthcare profession. Nurses are receiving these patients in their most vulnerable state, nurses are exposed and trusted with the patients’ information to further assist them on providing optimum treatment. Keeping patient’s information private goes back to not just doing what’s morally right but also it also builds that nurse – patient relationship as well. We also have provision three that specifically taps on this issue as well, as it states: “The nurse seeks to protect the health, safety, and rights of patient.” (Nurses Code of Ethics,
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 non-maleficence. 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 not to inflict harm” (Beemsterboer, 2010, p. 42).
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).
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, or STD. If someone thinks that he or she has syphilis it is important that they go to a doctor immediately because of the fact that it can be deadly if left untreated. The doctor must then send a sample to a laboratory for testing. Syphilis has four different stages including the primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary.
Laws and regulations state there are no exceptions to disclosing information of a patient without consent. If a patient gives consent to a family member the healthcare provider may devise a code to give family members so they may confirm their identity.