...Ethics: A Case Study Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, have professional uses. However, there is increasing concern over misuse of social media. In The New York Times article “When Med Students Post Patient Pictures” Cohen (2011) describes a situation in which a medical student posts a comical picture of a patient with rebar in his abdomen. The student uploads the picture to Facebook with the caption “a 5-foot-9 Hispanic male walks into a bar” (para. 1). Additionally, the article states that battlefield humor is a common response by many medical professionals, but this does not diminish the doctor-patient privilege of confidentiality. Even though no identifiable patient information is on display, Cohen (2011) indicates that “the chances of that happening increase as the injuries depicted grow more grotesque and less commonplace” (para. 2). Although one can easily surmise the medical student’s actions are both illegal and unethical, his or her actions have further-reaching implications. Facts Legality Like Cohen, Hernandez (2011) agrees “the weirder and more specific the facts, the greater the chances are of identifying who’s involved” (para. 3), and the poster violates the AMA Code of Medical Ethics “which these future physicians ought to emulate” (para. 5). The American Medical Association (AMA) has many Opinions in its Code of Ethics in regard to the protection of patient privacy. However, there are three Opinions that exemplify the need for patient confidentiality...
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...Administrative Ethics Paper The journal article that I chose is about a case of privacy and confidentiality of health care employees in New Zealand and not the United States. Its relevancy though is just as important here as it was in New Zealand. New Zealand has a Privacy Act similar to the United States’ HIPAA. The article “Privacy, employees and human resources: a case report” (Mair, 2011) documents the release of an employee’s medical records to his employer, a New Zealand hospital and the resulting issues. Although administrators are highly cognizant of patient privacy and confidentiality, it can be easily overlooked when employees are involved. The article concerns an employee at a particular hospital who presented himself to that hospital’s Emergency Department for stress and anxiety connected to his employment there and his bullying and harassment by a particular nurse. He had made several complaints to the administration about this treatment by the nurse and nothing had been done. The nurse, Nurse X, who interviewed him, noted that he was at a low risk of harming himself or others. He also told Nurse X that he had submitted his resignation that day to the hospital. A doctor at the hospital assessed him and determined that he was of moderate risk to himself because the internalizing his anger could lead to suicide. He was transferred to another hospital where he was again evaluated and discharged the next day after as it determined that he was no longer experiencing...
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...Fired Over Patient Privacy Violations Luanne D. Walters HCS/335 Ethics: Health Care and Social Responsibility February 29, 2012 Jacqueline Paik Employees Fired Over Patient Privacy Violations “Whatsoever things I see or hear concerning the life of men, in the attendance on the sick or even apart there from, which ought not be noised abroad, I will keep silence thereon, counting such things to be as sacred secrets (Oath of Hippocrates, 4th Century, B.C.E.)”. Addressing issues pertaining to the privacy of a patient is not new to the medical arena. In the past the confidentiality between a patient and the doctor should have been taken seriously, however, was sometimes taken for granted, and information was passed to people with no need to know. In 1996 The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA) was legislated. Rules and regulations to guard patient privacy were brought to the forefront in the world of patient care. Safeguarding a patient’s electronic data continues to be a high emphasis in doctor/patient confidentiality. The issue that will be addressed in regard to violating patient privacy in this paper took place in a Minneapolis hospital in March 2011. The issue involved nearly 32 hospital employees who took it upon themselves to look up information on a number of patients who were part...
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...HIPAA provides rights to patients over health information and limits who can see or receive health information. Patients or patient’s personal representation has rights to their own medical records; however do not have access to psychotherapy notes. HIPAA privacy rules limits on who can see your medical records. Any information pertaining conversations with medical staff, health insurance, billing information and health information is protected. For example, employers cannot see you medical records and can’t be shared; unless you give your employer, a written consent or authorization. If rights are being denied based on discrimination or a violation of HIPAA privacy or security rule occurs; a complaint can be filed. Therefore; HIPAA does affect medical records, but it also protects our health information. A complaint is filed; when a cover entity has violated health information either by privacy rights or violation of privacy rules or security rules. Any person can file the complaint. The complaint must be filed in writing either by paper or electronically. When emailing the complaint, a signature is not needed for consent forms or the complaint. An email represents the signature. The complaint must name the cover entity and description of the violation act of what you believed that was violated and what happened. The complaint must be filed within 180 days from the day the incident occurred. For an extension, you must show a good cause to the office of civil rights. A complaint...
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...Case Study: Oops Is Not An Option Isaacnette Mathurin Devry University 12/03/2014 Introduction Patients private information and private hospital documents are often leaked by internal employees or vendors who work throughout the organization. Each hospital or organization has strict policies and guidelines for which each employee or vendor must abide. Often Times these policies and guidelines are breached due to employees misusing the information for their own personal gain. Not only is this a breach of hospital policy, it is also a violation of the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act (HIPPA). So when the HIPPA law is broken different protocols have to come in and the situation has to be dealt with so the hospital will not be reliable for that . Not only is the hospital liable for the patients information being released to a third party without the patients consent it is also a violation of the HIPPA Law. Employees must really have to follow the different policies and protocols that there hospital have. For instance, if you do not know the procedures they have a book that they give to their employees when you are hired on. The information on polices and procedures are included in the employee handbook. The handbook is usually located in Human Resource office ,if you lose the handbook that is given to you at the beginning of employment. However HIPPA policies and procedures are typically posted throughout...
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...Association, 2011). Along with streamlining the administrative process, HIPAA also guarantees patient privacy and has strict guidelines regarding how organizations can disclose a patient’s protected health information (American Medical Association, 2011). The Department of Health and Human Services promises to impose steep fines to those organizations that do not follow the HIPAA guidelines. Although many of the guidelines they are referring to have more to do with billing and coding procedures, patients’ privacy is also very important. Many facilities have educated staff extensively on the issues surrounding patient privacy. Prior to 1996, a patient’s family member could call a hospital and request the medical status of his or her loved one who was hospitalized. Currently, the patient must give express consent as to whom the staff may and may not speak with regarding their care. The rule has become to not only refrain from giving any information, but they cannot even confirm or deny a patient’s admission status. The various elements in the HIPAA guidelines are daunting. Seemingly innocuous actions are now cause for concern. There have been several institutions, which have been cited for HIPAA privacy violations. The management at Richmond Surgical GPS PC (RichSurg) have taken cues from other institutions in identifying its own potential privacy...
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... In this article, it talks about patients' confidentiality, and in this article it is about critical care providers are often privy to confidential information in the course of the clinic. The dilemma can arise when confidential information is requested by family members or friends of the patient. The Critical care nurses must be aware of the regulations regarding confidentiality, as well as situations where the use and disclosure of protected health information are permitted. (Critical Care Nurse.2012;32[5]:61-65) This is where the critical care nurses must take the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) laws on how important they are in the health care field, and to make sure that use the line between what is right with the confidentiality for their patients. When it comes to the health care field there are privacy and confidentiality that needs to be enforced to the areas where it comes patient privacy and confidentiality. However, in this paper the legal and ethical issues that arise from both sides, when each party is bound by separate laws, as well as what happens when these laws overlap the issues and impact to the facility and the patient let alone the families and friends. The main issue is that the critical care nurses need to look into the best welfare of what their patients need and what they actually do for their patients. When talking to a family about a patient, the nurse to make sure that the patient wants you to disclose the information...
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...costs sharply increasing, the government determined it needed to have oversight on the health care industry and pushed for the establishment of managed care organizations (MCO). CMS enforces the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA); this act was created to ensure health care organizations provide a minimum of a medical screening exam to determine if complaint is emergent or not. Most importantly for EMTALA is the obligation to treat emergent cases regardless of the patient’s ability to pay for services. In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was approved by the United States Congress to regulate the use of and protect patient health records and the Department of Health & Human Services oversees the compliance and violations of HIPAA (Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.). The intentions of many of these regulatory agencies is to oversee that the health care industry is providing quality, affordable health care and treating patients with fairness and privacy. In 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) projected that by 2017 the “annual health care spending in the United States [will] reach more than $4.3 trillion” ("CMS: Steady Growth in Health Spending," 2008). Health care costs will continue to rise so it is important that CMS works to manage those costs. CMS is one of the biggest governmental regulatory agencies known in the health care industry. It...
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...Administrative Ethics Misty Sorensen HCS/335 August 19, 2012 Christine Singel Administrative Ethics Patient privacy is the responsibility of the medical organization that treats the patient. Patients have the right to have their medical issues kept private from people that do not need to know the information. The federal government has created the HIPPA policy to help medical organizations understand and follow rules to protect the privacy of the patients that come to the organization. It is important for the organization to make sure that all members of the staff are trained and follow the policies of HIPPA. In some cases organizations may have ethical issues arise involving a patient’s privacy and the confidential information of a patient. Ethical issues arose at the Alexandria VA Medical Center it involved the staff and the administration. The VA Office of Inspector General’s office was called to look into the problems (Garrett, Baillie, & Garrett 2009). The VA Office of Inspector General Office of Healthcare Inspections investigated the possibility of mismanagement of the suicide prevention program at the Alexandria VA Medical Center in Pineville, LA. A confidential complaint against the facility was filed and the allegations made stated that there were over 600 patients on a high risk for suicide list and that the patients were not monitored as required. Privacy and confidentiality rules were not followed in the suicide prevention program. The administration...
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...How HIPPAA Violations Affect the Medical Billing Process, Part Two Amber Padgett HCR/220 October 19, 2014 Felecia Pettit-Wallace The purpose of this paper is to relate to ways that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) violations may affect the medical billing process. While researching, the findings conclude that confidentiality of health information was adopted centuries ago. The findings of the research show that although, HIPAA laws have been put into place to protect the privacy and confidential heath information of patients; HIPAA laws are sometimes violated. The medical billing coders are sometimes careless when handling confidential information; however medical health records should be protected adequately. The coder that violates the HIPAA laws concerning the confidentiality and privacy of patient health information can suffer serious ramifications. The ramifications of these violations could result in serious penalties such as disciplinary actions by the employer, monetary fines, and jail time, or both. HIPAA violations ranks number one among the complaints received by the Office of Civil Rights each year. Humans take pleasure in the right to privacy in every aspect of life. The right of protecting the confidentiality and privacy of identifiable personal health information takes first priority and is greatly cherished among most. The Hippocratic Oath, dating back centuries required physicians to keep medical information concerning...
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... In the case study, the nurse is facing ethical as well as professional dilemma regarding the patient’s rights. The nurse’s role in this case study is to, work according to the Maryland state regulations and nursing standards; But as per Maryland nursing standards, she is not working as an advocate for her patient, Mr. E at this situation (Code of Ethics - the Division of State Documents, 10.27.19.02). The patient already signed advanced directive against life saving measures almost seven years ago, at the time of admission to a nursing home, with the help of patient advocate; but Dr G. is planning patient care in opposition to Mr.E’s active advance directive and his expressed objections to the medical care. There are numerous issues to consider in this case study. The nurse has to review her professional role according to code of ethics and nursing standards in relation to advance directives and medical power of attorney. The nurse also has to consider the patient’s right to privacy and confidentiality according to HIPPA Policy. The issues in contemporary healthcare facilities are sometimes the statues can be vague, and issues can be in conflict with own personal beliefs in most areas. A) State Regulations and Nursing Standards of practice There are specific Maryland state regulations and nursing standards regarding patient rights in this case study. However, the most relevant regulation is that, the...
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...issues that may arise in concern to a patient’s privacy. There were no specific laws years ago that protected a patients privacy and rights. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) which was signed in August of 1996 which became a law under President Bill Clinton (Physicians Billing Associates International, 2006). The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act includes provisions for: health insurance portability, tax- related provisions, fraud and abuse control, revenue and offset provisions, group health plan requirements, and administrative simplification requirements (Physicians Billing Associates International, 2006). The HIPPA act was put into place as a standard law used to protect a patient’s personal health and medical records nationwide. This act was created to help health care workers to keep better control of a patient’s personal information. HIPPA has a privacy rule that concerns an individual’s health plans; the rule helps to provide health care workers information that would be needed to transmit an individual’s vision, health, prescription, and any other type of medical information safely. This essay will discuss how Rite Aid pharmacy informs customers of how his or her personal information is disclosed and how he or she is protected against violations of their rights, ensuring customers that his or her information will continue to remain to stay protected and that the HIPPA privacy laws are continued to be followed. As well as...
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...in their office or clinic setting. Independent databases are often created by researchers and may not include the same content as the original health record. In case of a late entry (addendum) in one, shadow chart or independent database, that is used to add information to a previous entry must have the title addendum, date, time, the reasons of creating the addendum referring back to the original entry (Legal Medical Records Standards). Information technology staff can help decrease incidents of security breaches by implementing screen protectors in all computers, by providing logging accreditation to all personnel, by using network security software and hardware, by monitoring the safety of the network and by educating, reporting and enforcing any HIPAA violation. In case of disclosure of unauthorized protected medical information such as providing a copy of medical records to a friend of a patient without written authorization from the patient may result in fines and imprisonment to the institution and individuals involved in such HIPAA violation. HIPAA defines as criminal the use or disclosure (by individuals or institutions) of confidential medical information of a patient for any other purposes than treatment, payment, or health care operations. Such violations carry fines and/or imprisonment (Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality). According to the Montana Code 41-1-402 the healthcare provider can obtain a legal consent for prevention, diagnosis or treatment from...
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...bills, and apply for credit with a simple click of a button. Some healthcare providers now have patient portals, where patients can access their medical records, review and pay their bills online and even schedule their own appointments. This is not only convenient but also makes sense with today’s technology. A patient portal is a Web-based access point that allows doctors and patients to communicate and share health information remotely, supplementing the ongoing management of the patient's care. While portals can't replace an in-office visit, they have many benefits: They are "designed to boost patient's involvement in their care," as portals encourage viewing test results and health documentation and can facilitate an ongoing doctor-patient dialogue. Additionally, portals can reduce costly paperwork by serving as online billing and payment centers (Healthcare IT) but with all of this technology and access to private information, how are consumers protected? How do they know their records are being kept confidential and not broadcasted online for everyone else to see? Patients and their private health information are protected through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act also known as HIPAA. In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or the HIPAA was endorsed by the U.S. Congress. The HIPAA Privacy Rule, also called the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, provided the first nationally-recognizable...
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...smartphones are becoming more prevalent in business and the healthcare field as well. According to Pew Research Center, “62% of smartphone owners have used their phone in the past year to look up information about a health condition” (April, 2015). Technology, just like all things come with flaws and setbacks. However, with the new technology being created every day, along with the increasing use of both smartphones and social media, using these outlets for patient-provider relationships can enhance overall patient trust and care. That being said, ensuring that patient privacy is not violated has to be the number one priority. Advances in technology and media can pose great triumphs for healthcare further down the road, as long as the appropriate measures are taken to ensure that HIPAA standards are being met at all times while using these outlets. Understanding HIPAA’s Guidelines for Securing Patient Information HIPAA’s Privacy Rule sets the guidelines for the use and disclosure of protected health information (HHS, n.d). This Privacy Rule protects all identifiable information that is held or transmitted by a covered entity. These entities include health providers, health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, or its business associates. It protects this information in any form, whether electronic, paper, or oral. (Terry, 2015). Identifiable information can include any of the following: an individual’s past, present or...
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