..."Does the EMR actually protect patient privacy and what are the regulatory ramifications in the US on EMR implementation?” Table of Contents: INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW ANALYSIS I. MEDICAL RECORDS THEN AND NOW A. Paper-Based Medical Records VS. Electronic Medical Records B. Benefits, Potential Problems and Cost of the EMR II. HEALTH CARE PRIVACY LAW A. HIPAA 1.What is HIPAA? 2. HIPPA Privacy & Security B. HIPAA and EMR III. CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO PROTECT PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY/ PRIVACY? A. Why Should Patient Privacy Be Afforded Privacy Protection Regulation? B. Patient Privacy Within EMR IV. SPANNING THE MILES Intranet & Extranet Software & IM/IT CONCLUSION GLOSSARY REFERENCES Introduction: Healthcare companies all over the world are slowly recognizing the benefits on an EMR. Although EMR’s were implemented over 30 years ago but as of 2006 fewer than 10% of hospitals were utilizing the system. In 2009 the he U.S. Department of Health and Human Services enacted a privacy rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in an attempt to protect the privacy of patients medical records. But one question still arises; “Does the EMR actually protect patient privacy and what are the regulatory ramifications in the US on EMR implementation?” In this paper I will address EMR, patient privacy and the regulatory ramifications of EMR implementation. Literature Review The literature shows that there is...
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...HIPAA Law of 1996 Timothy Glover HCA210 Introduction to Health Care Martha Schlagel 02/26/2012 HIPAA Law of 1996 HIPAA was enacted on April 26, 1996 to establish a set of national standards for the protection of certain health information. Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (a.k.a. the Privacy Rule). HIPAA addresses the use and disclosure of individual health information, a.k.a. Protected Health Information. HIPAA establishes standards for privacy rights and controls how an individual’s health information is used and disclosed. Health and Human Services (HHS) Standards establishes standards and guidelines for the electronic exchange, privacy, and security of Protected Health Information. The Privacy Rule and the HHS Standards collectively are called the Administrative Simplification provisions. HIPAA applies to all covered entities that electronically transmit medical information such as billing, claims, enrollment or eligibility verification * Health Plans * Health Care Clearinghouses * Health Care Providers * Business Associates Protected Health Information (PHI) is any health information that contains any of a number of patient identifiers including name, Social Security number, telephone number, medical record number or zip code. The regulations protect all PHI in any form (electronic, paper-based, oral) that is stored or transmitted by a covered entity. De-Identified Health Information...
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...HIPAA and Our Responsibility Jimmy Nazario HIPAA Overview: Privacy and Security – Section I MBC203 Prof. Deana Arvidson, RHIA, CCS INTRODUCTION The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) were enacted by Congress in 1996 to protect workers and their families’ health insurance due to change or lose of jobs. Different key provisions (Title I and Title II) under HIPAA deal with insurance reforms (Title I) and privacy and security regulations (Title II), that outlines guidance; coverage; penalties; and responsibilities to everyone in the healthcare field (beneficiaries, providers, or entity). OUR RESPONSIBILITY As a professional in the healthcare industry, our responsibility concerning HIPAA’s regulation is greater since we will be entrusted with the patients’ personal and private health information. The consequences for not following HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rule can be from civil monetary penalties to federal fines and/or imprisonment. It is our responsibility to safeguard all Protected Health Information (PHI) under Title II provision of HIPAA’s regulation. We have to implement and follow Administrative Safeguards (policies and procedures that outline control and handling of PHI); Physical Safeguards (physical access and controls of PHI); Technical Safeguards (protected electronic communications and transmission of PHI). As stated above the noncompliance of HIPAA’s Privacy and Security rule can be very severe, from civil fines and lawsuit...
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...External Environment and Government Policy Introduction The generic argument for governmental intervention is that the marketplace does not perform its normal function of optimizing resource production efficiency and resource allocation decision making as classical economics theory suggests. As a result of the market’s failure, government can, and some say should, intervene to fix the problem. However, some have argued that government interventions are designed to benefit those special interests that influence politicians rather than society as a whole (Austin & Boxerman, 2008). Discuss the impacts of breach to Healthcare Information systems, especially the financial and privacy impacts. Some of the most devastating security breaches can occur during employee termination when steps are not taken to remove access to resources in a timely manner. HIPAA guidelines specify that when employees are terminated, that certain steps, at a minimum, must be followed. These include changing locks, removal from access lists, removal of user account, and confiscation of keys, tokens and other access cards. Though these steps may seem to be common sense, some organizations may not have documented procedures to follow when an employee is terminated. Additionally, the responsibility for carrying out the termination procedures must be clearly assigned and documented (SANS Institute, 2001). Security Training In order for a security program to work well, the employees must be educated insecurity...
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...Introduction Social media has promoted communication. It has gathered people from all over the world to interact electronically without any movement. Social media tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Blogs and Twitter have enabled people to exchange information irrespective of where the person is located. Despite its advantages, social media may negatively affect healthcare because the healthcare providers are supposed to maintain confidentiality on patient’s personal information and medical history. The healthcare providers are supposed to comply with HIPAA privacy and security rule while using social media in order to evade lawsuits as a result of disclosing patient’s information on social media platforms. Based on Rienton (2013) examples, it...
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...The Step’s Within the HIPAA Laws Page 1 The Step’s Within the HIPAA Laws Shannon Michael HCS/230 10/20/2014 Ann Maleta The Step’s Within the HIPAA Laws Page 2 Introduction The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which is known as HIPAA. The Federal legislation created this national standard to help protect the privacy of patients’ and there medical information. It was put in place to ensure greater accountability and to simplify the administrative function with the health care industry. Its purpose is to provider better healthcare continuity for the patients. There are several steps to the Privacy Rule and Compliance I will share a few with you. There must be Someone in Charge With the Privacy Rule someone needs to be assigned the responsibility to implement the rule. This person’s job is to get all the other steps in a line to implement the guild line that is done. For a small practice the doctor or office manager can take care of this duty. It the long run it will start out as a full-time job for a few weeks only and part-time job thereafter. The Duties of the Privacy Officer The privacy officer in place has a lot of things to do and to keep in place. First of all they have to track all of the steps that it takes to comply with the HIPAA Rule. This would be things like keeping files locked up in the file whether it is the cabinets or the door to the room locked. This keeps the records out of reach to others...
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...After HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act was passed in 1996 by the US Congress; the patient medical records were bound to be more protected. The private policy was designed to protect the individually identifiable information on health which is held or transmitted through any covered entity in any form including print, electronic or oral. At the same time, this privacy rule also permits disclosure of health related information of a person who needs patient care or other important purpose. The information which is considered as ‘individually identifiable’ relates to the following: • The past, present or future conditions related to either physical or mental health of the individual. • An individual’s provision of healthcare • The payment for health care which took place in the past, present or future of the individual. The common identifiers like name, birth date, address and social security number are also included in the individually identifiable information. With the application of this law, the health care organisations have to be cautious about whom to share the information of patient with. Thus, it acts as an added responsibility for the staff. The separate billing system can be beneficial in such situations for a health care organisation, since they helps in getting the EMR and private policy in place. The separate billing system can also substantially improve the revenue cycle since it is included in their field of expertise and thus, leave...
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...Regulation Quiz Week 6 HCA 210 / Introduction to Health Care Please select the best answer from the choices listed below. Once you have completed the quiz, save as a Word® document and submit in the assignment section. (Each question is worth 2.5 points) Resources: (These are all found under week 5 electronic reserve readings) OIG addresses confusion over EMTALA. (2000). hfm (Healthcare Financial Management), 54(1), 1. Brown, L. C. (2003). EMTALA compliance tips. Healthcare Financial Management: Journal Of The Healthcare Financial Management Association, 57(6), 26-28. Harman, L. (2005). HIPAA: A few years later. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing 10(2), Jost, T. S. (2009). Health care reform requires law reform. Health Affairs 28(5), 1. EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) is also known as the “antidumping” law. True/False True 2. Under EMTALA, the hospital can obtain a patient’s insurance information: Both A and C are correct 3. Violations of not abiding by EMTALA, can result in: The hospital can be fined as much as $100,000 for each offense 4. Under EMTALA, when can a hospital transfer a patient to another facility? Answers B & C are correct 5. Under EMTALA, Federal law requires that medical screening and stabilization is to be provided only in emergency situations (i.e., not for non life-threatening conditions the patient may...
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...Introduction: No matter what industry the organization fits in, IT Compliance plays an essential role of operations. It will cover both internal policies, federal regulations ,ethical practices, standards. Privacy is Fundamental to good health care. The HIPAA privacy rule is essential to patient care and public health and safety. Its very important to protect against disclosure of sensitive health information. Its critical to recognize that the lack of health privacy can lead to Individual health care and endanger public health and safety. Additional mesasures could enhance the effectivenss of the HIPAA privacy rule. Before the privacy rule with effect in April 2003, the inadequate health professional and patient outreach , awareness have...
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...Introduction to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) We human beings have been gathering data since the dawn of mankind, whether it was in the form of pictures drawn on stones or in the form some text typed and saved on your computer. 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 Portability and Accountability Act also known as “HIPAA”. This act brings balance to privacy, meaning that, as an individual or as a patient, you have the right to withhold information but at the same time, it gives the business owner the right to disclose patient information that is needed for patient care and other important purposes to various authorized businesses. However, healthcare businesses such as Medicare centers, insurance companies and more, must assure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronically-protected health information. HIPAA consists of two major standard Privacy and Security rules. Privacy Rules: This rule assures that individual’s health information is properly protected yet still provides flow...
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... Written by: Kevin Alton, Nadia Iqbal, and Alex Polevoy July 2015 Table of Contents Introduction.…………………………………………………………………..………….3 Section I: iTrust Threats & Vulnerabilities and Countermeasures.……………..…………..3 Section II: Recommended Changes to Security Management Policies………...……………..7 Section III: Adaption of Requirements to Reduce Security Risk……….……………....…......11 Conclusion. …………………………………….…………………………………….…21 References ……………………………………………………………...………………23 Introduction There are multiple benefits of electronic health records (EHR), which include improved care, quicker access to patient files, and increased physician oversight of care. However, with the benefit of convenience of using EHRs, comes the responsibility of protecting electronic protected health information (ePHI) and safeguarding sensitive patient data. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) focuses on protecting ePHI with guidelines to ensure organizations have implemented “reasonable and appropriate” security measures to adhere to HIPAA rules and maintain patient confidentiality. HIPAA requires covered entities to conduct risk assessments to verify compliance and attempt to uncover areas where ePHI is at risk of compromise. This analysis of the iTrust database, as related to the new requirements that iTrust...
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...Running head: Evolution of Health Care Information Systems Evolution of Health Care Information Systems HCS 533 Health Information Systems Tana M. Daniel Steven Fowler January 31, 2011 Evolution of Health Care Information Systems Bridging the gap in health care information technology will promote safe, proficient, patient-focused, and effective patient care in a timely manner. In this paper the subject is to examine two contemporary health care organizations and compare and contrast several features that will include the type of information systems currently in use, analyze the transmission of data 20 years ago and how the exchange of data today. In addition, this paper will cover two major events and technology advances that have influenced current HCIS practices. Five information systems seen in health care organizations are (Wagner, 2009) 1) computerized provider order entry 2) medication administration 3) telemedicine 4) telehealth, and 5) personal health records (p. 121). Each system can provide quality improvement, improve patient safety, and be cost effective. Skilled Nursing Facilities have made significant changes over the last 20 years, in comparison to now. Looking at a skilled nursing facility present time versus a skilled nursing facility operation of Dunseith Community Nursing Home in North Dakota 20 years ago. With the implementation of new rules and regulations, this requires skilled nursing facilities to focus...
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...Topic Paper #1: HIPAA - How the Security Rule Supports the Privacy Rule INTRODUCTION: HIPAA privacy rule: The HIPAA Privacy Rule establishes national standards to protect individuals’ medical records and other personal health information and applies to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and those health care providers that conduct certain health care transactions electronically. The Rule requires appropriate safeguards to protect the privacy of personal health information, and sets limits and conditions on the uses and disclosures that may be made of such information without patient authorization. The Rule also gives patients rights over their health information, including rights to examine and obtain a copy of their health records, and to request corrections. (HHS, 2003) HIPAA security rule: The HIPAA Security Rule establishes national standards to protect individuals’ electronic personal health information that is created, received, used, or maintained by a covered entity. The Security Rule requires appropriate administrative, physical and technical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of electronic protected health information. (HHS, 2003) Typically ePHI is stored in: • Computer hard drives • Magnetic tapes, disks, memory cards • Any kind of removable/transportable digital memory media • All transmission media used to exchange information such as the Internet, leased lines, dial-up, intranets, and private...
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...Electronic Devices and Patient Privacy Introduction Confidentiality is defined as a promise that limits access to certain information. With the increase use of technology it is believed that confidential information is at greater risk of being shared with the world. In recent news there have been many cases of people personal photos and information being leaked to the public. With the healthcare industry following in the footsteps of so many others and now going to electronic file databases the threat of patient’s personal information being leaked is upon us. Therefore it is imperative that proper precautions are taken to ensure the security and safety of information that is shares from patients. Issues and its impact on the population Patient confidentiality is a major concern for healthcare professionals, without it many would not have anyone to care for. Patients have a right to feel they can trust their doctors, nurses or anyone they have to share personal information with. In the past prior to the current HIPAA laws patients information seems to be public knowledge. This lead many not to seek care when issues arose, only home remedies were used and many people were dying because of the lack of care. It also assures patients that are worried about being stigmatized for certain condition that there information will not be disclosed unless consent is given by the patient. I believe this concern is shared by many but more by our older generations that have lived...
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...Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). As such, the HHS rolled out a new audit initiative to assess compliance across the nation with the privacy and security standards for protected health information This paper focus on how the audit program of HIPPA works, what the covered entity can do to prepare for the audit, and what happens once the audit is complete. Introduction Ever since implementation of the HIPAA privacy and security standards, entities have been required to establish and maintain a variety of compliance mechanisms, including written policies and procedures, training of responsible workforce members, business associate agreements, relevant notices to patients or plan participants, and health plan document amendments. Until now, most compliance actions have been complaint-driven investigations arising from alleged violations of the HIPAA privacy or security standards (Arant, 2011). Pursuant to the HITECH Act, a more robust enforcement program was created to make a more ???? The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) administers HIPAA (including the HITECH amendments) by investigating complaints, enforcing rights, promulgating regulations, developing policy and providing technical assistance and public education. Since the enactment of HITECH in 2009, OCR has assumed another function: compliance audits. HITECH requires periodic audits to ensure that covered entities and business associates are complying with the HIPAA privacy and security...
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