...16, 2013 Rosalina Nava-Bermudez There are a plethora of issues concerning patient privacy, confidentiality, and HIPAA. Unfortunately, these are issues that have arisen more recently; patient privacy and confidentiality wasn’t a largely disputed issue before the introduction and increase of health information technology implementation and usage. According to the Center for Democracy and Technology, “Health information technology has tremendous potential to improve health care quality and reduce costs while empowering patients to play a greater role in the management of their own care. At the same time, however, electronic storage and exchange of personal health information poses risks to privacy. Unaddressed, privacy concerns can stand in the way of realizing the benefits of health IT, for neither patients nor providers will make full use of a system they do not trust.” One has no choice but to take the two into consideration: do the speed, accuracy, and reduced cost of health information technology outweigh the potential privacy concerns? As stated in a brief article published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, “The combination of these technologies will improve the quality of health care by making it more personalized and reducing costs and medical errors. While there are benefits to technologies, associated privacy and security issues need to be analyzed to make these systems socially acceptable.” While these may not be considered...
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...Information Technology Acts BIS/220 February 25, 2013 Abstract The basis of this paper is to explain the advances in information technology that ultimately resulted with the creation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and the Children’s Online Protection Privacy Act (COPPA). These two acts are beneficial to the privacy of oneself regarding medical files and the protection that the Federal Trade Commission provides to children while they are using the Internet. The paper will go farther into detail about why these acts were created and how they are beneficial to society today and for our future. Information Technology Acts The many advances of information technology have resulted in ethical issues requiring the creation of many important acts. Information technology is a very important branch of engineering that deals with the use of computers and telecommunications to retrieve and store and transmit information. Two acts specifically are the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and the Children’s Online Protection Privacy Act (COPPA). These acts were carried out for many reasons, including; but not limited to privacy of personal health care information and protecting our children’s identities on the Internet. According to Sage Knowledge (2009), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, also known as HIPAA, is a federal...
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...Evolution of Health Care: Effects of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HCS/533 AHMED JAMAL The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) have been under a continuum since it was signed during the Clinton administration in 1996 (Schwartz, 2003). Policies have been implemented to protect patients’ privacy. What the establishment of HIPAA has enforced is that patients’ information must be protected from all unauthorized parties. Patients’ information is being stored electronically. The electronic form will protect the patient’s record from all parties involved with any change that a patient is involved with including insurance companies, employers, and health care providers (Degaspari, 2011). HIPAA has become a routine function in the health care system. Safeguards have been installed on facilities that have computers that store or have access to patient information. HIPAA’s involvement with the electronic system has improved the transmission of patient data while decreasing the number of errors which by comparison improves efficiency. Organizations must implement specific security objectives under HIPAA to be compliant. Under HIPAA standards any unauthorized exposure regardless of the circumstances to which the violation takes place is harmful to the patient. The continued changes have revisited the liability of violators which suggests any organization that is involved or responsible for such actions will be held accountable regardless...
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...advances in information technology that has resulted in new ethical issues arising that has necessitated the creation of various congressional acts. We will review two of these congressional acts, which are the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). In both of these congressional acts, we will look at its purpose, the ethical issue/reason requiring the congressional act along with potential implications if the act did not exist. First, we will discuss the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Over the years as information technology became more advanced and widely used in the health and medical field, control measures needed to be established in order to provide additional protection to the rights of patients. On the same note, the medical field needed to be able to quickly share information through information technology in order to provide timely patient care as well. As a result of the need for patient rights while providing and protecting our society through information technology, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was established in 1996. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act require medical offices specifically doctors to ensure the protection and privacy of their patients medical information by using a nation-wide standard format when conducting transactions through the use of information systems. In addition, patient information may be...
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...implementation of information technology solutions. These changes are due to, the growing challenges of regulatory burdens, to reduce company costs, and increase in patient care or clients. Today, most businesses use information technology solutions that include programs such as, computerized order entry for physicians, electronic claims processing, and electronic medical records. The need for this new technology in the human service sector is tremendous. In order to be successful, all human service providers are subject to a regulatory framework, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which was signed on 21st of August, 1996 by the U.S President Bill Clinton. In very basic terms, HIPAA has two primary components to which hospitals, health plans, and healthcare. Anyone who transmits health information electronically must be in full compliance with the HIPPA Law. Consequently, healthcare providers and IT solutions providers are responsible for understanding HIPPA rules and regulations (Information Technology Association of America, 2004). "Clearinghouses," and healthcare providers must conform: Administrative simplification, which calls for use of the same computer language industry-wide; Privacy protection, which requires healthcare providers to take reasonable measures to protect patients' written, oral, and electronic information. Congress passed HIPAA in an effort "to protect the privacy and security of individually identifiable health information...
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...Information Systems Development PROJECT PROPOSAL TOPIC: Information Security Considerations in Health Care IT Systems Information Security Considerations in Health Care IT Systems A combination of health statistics from various sources used to derive information about health status, health care, provision and use of services and health impact Informatics Hospital information system A system that provides information management features that hospitals need for daily business Features Pt tracking, billing and administrative programs; may include clinical features Security for the Healthcare IT systems is very important. Any other system or material attached with the healthcare is also very important. Healthcare includes patient information, doctors information any medical related information and different policies of different insurance companies. To compile all this information IT/IS is very helpful. Information system, which has all the information, relates to healthcare, it needs to have good security. Information security and privacy in healthcare sector is an issue of growing concern. Many Health maintenance organizations (HMO) are adopting digital patient records to make process easy. Government is also moving to accept electronic health records and trying to convince all HMOs for that too. Electronic health records make process easy but at same time without proper security this system will fail and it will create big problem. Privacy is the...
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...Information Technology Acts Technology has affected us in a very positive way and has increase quality of life. However, everything comes with a price and at times disadvantages. A major disadvantage is the loss of privacy in many different levels, from our personal lives to our everyday routines but also in the work environment. As a response to the invasion of privacy, the government has passed several laws to counteract this trend and try to protect us and our privacy in some extend. In this paper we will discuss the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Telephone Consumer Protection Act The telephone has brought great benefits and has become a necessity. At the same time, several companies use this as a tool to drive sales and increase profits. Telemarketing is one of the ways companies have taken advantage of this great invention. Who has not been the victim of these intruding and harassing phone calls? This is an issue that has plagued millions of people across the United States since the late eighties. People felt their privacy was being invaded. Their phones numbers and contact information was being sold and shared amongst many companies while they were being bombarded with phone calls in the privacy of their own homes. There was a sense of loss of personal control and privacy. As a result, the government passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 in response to the increasing...
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...Healthcare Law and IT Brittany Technology is constantly evolving and advancing. As the healthcare industry becomes more electronic the laws protecting patient health information also need to evolve to cover the ever changing technologic advances. The concerns of protecting patients’ private healthcare information have grown as the use of electronic medical records has become more prevalent throughout the industry. In the 1960s computers began being used for generalizing human behavior. A physician established the idea of the Electronic Medical Record (Srinivasan, 2013). Unfortunately, the usage of electronic medical records did not become more mainstream until two decades later. (Srinivasan, 2013). As the use of EMRs became more prevalent healthcare information technology has played a “pivotal role in improving healthcare quality, cost, effectiveness, and efficiency,” (Srinivasan, 2013). However, the use of healthcare information technology has brought up concerns about privacy and protection of patient health information. In 1996, the Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act also known as HIPAA was passed. This was the first federal law regulating the privacy of health information. HIPAA was “designed primarily to modernize the flow of health information” (Solove, 2013). While at this time medical records were still in paper form, it was clear that health records would become digital in the future. (Solove, 2013). In the early years of HIPAA...
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...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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...SUMMARY The use of Information technology now allows human service organizations to more efficiently keep track of high priority information on clients, costs, and regulations. Years ago this information was kept by hand in ledgers. Nowadays client numbers, costs, and regulations have increased astronomically. As such information technology is the only way to keep track. There are a plethora of IT solutions for human service organizations. Out of the box solutions typically contain applications that record physician orders and keep track of claims and medical record information. Modern day regulation sets are complex and the need to keep track of these is extremely important. A good example of a large and complex regulation set is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act (HIPAA) which was put into law in 1996 by president, Bill Clinton. HIPAA has multiple facets. However the most important is that it sets rules on how to properly communicate medical data. Individuals, groups, or organizations that need to transfer medical data must do so according to HIPAA rules. As such administrators of health service organizations as well as IT professionals must understand the rules (Information Technology Association of America, 2004). The two most important components of HIPAA are simplification and privacy. Simplification means that the underlying HIPAA system must be based on one computer language, no matter where it is installed. Privacy requires that human...
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...Oluwadamilola O. Adeyemi Dr. Msthali CIS 500 November 16, 2012 In comparing and contrasting using mobile technology to the ageless standard of in patient visits and all the procedures handled within the office or hospital setting, vital signs have been measured frequently to access the condition of a patient. Since the days of Florence Nightingale who is the mother of nursing, the standard in health care has been that taking the patients vital signs has always been a hands on in person experience. This at many times has caused days of agony and drudgery as you would deal with the discomfort of having to sit for hours upon hours in an office field with coughing, sneezing, hacking, wheezing and nauseous individuals. Each visit leaves you feeling that at any time, you may leave this office visit in a worst condition than when you came in. The assessment and monitoring of patient vital signs has typically been looked upon as one of the most routine aspects of nursing care. Monitoring patient vital signs became so mundane that usually the responsibility of taking the vital signs, even though ordered by a physician would end up being handled by a lowly Patient Care Technician. While in the hospital, vital signs are monitored on a scheduled basis. This is only interrupted if there is a change in the patient’s condition, the worse the change, the greater the increase in scheduled vital sign monitoring. However, this can also be affected by nursing judgments which...
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...Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Compliance Guide US Department of Health and Human Services Information Security Program Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Compliance Guide September 14, 2005 Page i Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Compliance Guide US Department of Health and Human Services Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................... i Preface.........................................................................................................iii Document Change History ............................................................................iv 1. Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 2. 2.1 Purpose ........................................................................................... 1 Background...................................................................................... 1 Scope.............................................................................................. 2 Document Organization ..................................................................... 4 HIPAA Administrative Simplification Requirements ........................... 5 General Overview ............................................................................. 5 2.1.1 HIPAA Administrative Simplification Goals and Objectives ............. 5...
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...practice efficient, standardized, electronic wound documentation and management, the solution can be discovered in health informatics software and digital wound imaging technology. The focus of health informatics is the patient and the process of care, and the goal is to enhance the quality and efficiency of care provided (Hebda & Czar, 2013). Category of Solution Rationale The rationale for the utilization of health informatics software and digital wound imaging technology is to decrease charting errors, staff frustration, and increase efficiency of wound documentation. It would also enhance workflow, cost-efficiency, and most importantly patient care. Fosco (2012) stated, "Facilities save on labor cost due to more efficient workflow, better clinician and staff time management, accelerated coordination of care, and automated processes” (Labor savings section, para. 1). Using a health informatics software and digital wound imaging technology together allows for an interoperable solution to manage health care information better. Regulatory, Legal, or Ethical Issues Regulatory, legal, and ethical recommendations are practiced in the health care setting to ensure safety, security, and reduce or eliminate the risk of injury or illness. When applying a new informatics and technology solution it is imperative that the policies and procedures of the health care organization are followed. The policies and procedures already in place normally meet the requirements of the...
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... “Technology to compute information has roughly doubled every 14 months between 1986 and 2007” (Rundio & Wilson, 2010 ). Health IT has changed the ways of communication and documentation. Informatics in healthcare has helped to increase the efficiency of our healthcare system. By moving away from hand written medical records, information has become more organized, more manageable, and much more easily accessible. Advancements in technology have allowed organizations to become more productive and more cost effective. Informatics has helped organizations in reducing their staff needs, ultimately saving them money. As healthcare IT continues to advance, patient safety, quality of care, and costs will continue to improve, and privacy and security will continue to be the goal for all electronic information. The use of electronic health information to improve the quality of care requires the exchange of electronic health records, which increases the need for security and privacy. Because of this, it was essential to establish collaborative governance guiding health information technology infrastructure (Rundio & Wilson, 2010) . The Health IT Patient Safety Action and Surveillance Plan addresses the role of healthcare informatics within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services promise to patient safety. The objective of the plan is to use healthcare informatics to make care safer and to continuously improve the safety of health IT (“HealthIT”, n.d.). The Health IT...
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...HIPAA Privacy – Safe Guarding and Securing Patient Data HIPAA Privacy – Safe Guarding and Securing Patient Data Robert N. Reges DeVry University/ HSM 410 Professor Anthony LaBonte 12 December 2010 Abstract According to section 1.07 of the APA Publication Manual [ (Ame01) ], “An abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the article; it allows readers to survey the contents of an article quickly, and like a title, it enables abstracting and information services to index and retrieve articles” (p. 12). . HIPAA Privacy – Safe Guarding and Securing Patient Data It has been said time and time again that life was much less complicated at the turn of the 20th Century and this saying could not be truer when it comes to medicine. At the turn of the 1900’s there was a personal bond between the provider and the patient, between the provider and the community, and between citizens in the community. In small towns across the nation there was less of a sense of privacy & individualism and more emphasis on helping your neighbor; because of this medical privacy was not a concern. You cannot help your neighbor if you are not aware of their issues. If we fast forward to the year 2010 times have changed significantly; with the advent of technology the American culture has changed. Personal information is no longer just stored on paper in the doctor’s office, patient information is stored in vast computer banks and sold like stocks and bonds on...
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