...The healthcare industry is considered a trillion-dollar industry, growing rapidly with technology and employing millions of healthcare workers in numerous fields. “On August 21, 1996, the U.S. Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The primary goals of the act are to improve the portability and continuity of health-care coverage in group and individual markets; to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health-care insurance and health-care delivery;” (Ramutkowski & Pugh p.50) Being aware and familiar with the Health Insurance Portability Act not only benefits the patient but also protects the employee from falling into such a situation as this Nurse did. This paper will discuss the article’s issue and its effects, how the article uses current facts about healthcare and the issue addressed, the managerial responsibilities related to administrative ethical issues, and any proposed solutions. The article “Staff Nurse Faces Jail Time for HIPAA Violations” took place in 2008 years after the HIPAA law was enacted. “What had begun as routine file maintenance ended in arrest and possible jail time for a licensed practical nurse who shared medical information with her spouse.” (Latner p.1) Mrs. A had been employed at this physician’s office for over 4 years when the incident occurred. Her husband Mr. A was pending a lawsuit from a current auto accident which would put a strain on their family financially. Mrs. A (RN) decides to take measures...
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...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 regulations for the use/disclosure of an individual's health information. Essentially, the Privacy Rule defines how covered entities use individually-identifiable health information or the PHI (Personal Health Information). 'Covered...
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...cost-effective health care. As a result of health care 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...
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...some cases, the shadow chart may contain original information meant for the patient’s primary records. This causes the patient health record to be incomplete or at least not up to date. The need for seamless and routine reconciliation is clearly present. As with all patient health records, appropriate authorization is critical with shadow charts. Authorizations should be granted to appropriate staff, as well as identical release of information procedure followed by the H.I.M. Department. IT Staff and Security The Information Technology staff is to have entry orientation on information security, followed by documented annual reeducation. Along with all education should be the reminder of the legal and facility ramification of policy violation. Standard security work place practices should be in place to help safeguard patient information. IT security Practices Firewall | Encryption of data | Appropriate staff access | Anti-spyware | Secured workstations | No sharing of passwords | Legal Issues of Privacy In discussion of the Montana Code 41-1-402, it is noted subsections 2a-2d refers to consenting of minors for medical treatment. In addition of a minor consenting for treatment, there is a slightly mentioned issue of who is authorized to access...
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...Act, HIPAA. For the purpose of the exercise, this document will examine a typical visit to the doctor’s office. The focus will be to identify the various organizational, administrative, physical and technical safeguards that a doctor’s office should have in place to protect protected health information (PHI) as well as provide guidance in needed areas for compliance. In particular, the paper’s focus pinpoints the ePHI although all health information, written and oral should be addressed with HIPAA. The importance of protecting the confidentiality of patient information requires a synergy of effort from IT, management and staff. Purpose The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed by Congress in 1996 and deals with security of healthcare information (HIPAA Administrative Simplification Statute and Rules, n.d.). The HIPAA regulations apply to health care providers who transmit any health information electronically, health plans (including Medicare and Medicaid programs), health care clearinghouses and healthcare business associates (Unknown, 2013). HIPAA defines a health care provider as a provider of medical or health services or any other person or organization who furnishes, bills, or is paid for health care in the normal course of business (Unknown, 2013). The intention is to protect the individual’s privacy and confidentiality throughout the gathering, transmitting and storing of healthcare information. The various components of HIPAA cover...
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...tracking and forensic analysis. In addition to the many benefits of having policies in place for continuous log analysis, standards and regulations have increased business awareness of the requirements for archiving and reviewing system logs as part of daily continuity. Some of the influential regulations that reference log management and other information security task include the following. • Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) requires entities to ensure the development and execution of organizational processes and internal controls designed to secure information systems. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) encompasses information security benchmarks for protecting consumer health information. Violation Penalties can range from $100-$1.5 million per violation and 1year-10year criminal sentences. ISO 17799 is an audit checklist...
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...HC260DL March 2, 2014 HIPAA And How It Effects Nursing Care: I. What is HIPAA? II. Patient’s Bill of Rights III. Violating HIPAA IV. Ways Hospitals Protect Patient Privacy V. Conclusion: Nurses on the frontline In order to explain how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act are affecting nursing care today, the act itself must be defined. HIPAA is one of the most important acts that have been passed to protect patients’ privacy and give them security. HIPAA privacy standards include some of the most restrictive guidelines in regards to accessing identifiable health information and disclosures. The guidelines were set into place to protect the patient from having their information disclosed verbally, written or by electronic transfer (Pozgar, 2012). The Privacy rule is clearly defined as “HIPAA”, which ensures the privacy and protection of all health information. Before HIPAA many states had their own standards and guidelines for healthcare privacy and practice (ANA, 2014). HIPAA has given us unison and uniformity as a healthcare nation, not just a state. The standards and guidelines protecting the privacy of an individual’s health information were issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HIPAA 101, 2014). The privacy rule, does allow the use of healthcare information to promote the best quality of health care. The rule also protects the confidentiality of the patient. HIPAA also affects the patient’s own...
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...How HIPAA Violations Affect the Medical Billing Process Rebecca Clements HCA 220 University of Phoenix (Axia) October 3, 2010 Monica Tucker Abstract HIPAA mandates privacy rules and regulations regarding patient’s protected health information. This includes diagnoses, information regarding sexuality and history of drug use. HIPAA applies to all diagnoses, because of the social stigmas placed upon certain types of diagnosis; history has shown society to be more sensitive when it comes to HIV and AIDS disclosures. Inappropriate disclosure of information can create social, legal and ethical ramifications. How has the medical industry improved upon confidentialities and disclosure with HIV and AIDS patients. How HIPAA Violations Affect the Medical Billing Process References Dickens, B., & Cook, R. (05/08/2000). Law and ethics in conflict over confidentiality? Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=946463 Myers, J., Friednan, T., Berhwani, K., & Henning, K. (2008, May). Ethics in Public Health Research: Privacy and Public Health at Risk: Public Health Confidentiality in the Digital Age. American Journal of Public Health, 98(5), 793-801. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.107706 Richards, E. (1999). HIV: Testing, Screening, and Confidentiality - An American Perspective. Retrieved from http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/cphl/articles/american-hiv.htm UNAIDS, U. (2007, June 27). Confidentiality and Security of HIV...
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...to all information system users. A Security Awareness program must exist to establish formal methods by which secure practices are communicated throughout the corporation. Security guidance must exist in the form of formal written policies and procedures that define the principles of secure information system use and the responsibility of users to follow them. Security awareness articles, posters, and bulletins should be periodically created and distributed throughout the corporation to educate employees about new and existing threats to security and how to cope with them. All employees are responsible for promptly reporting to their management and Information Systems (IS) management any suspected insecure conditions or security violations they encounter. All employees must be made aware of their security responsibilities on their first day of employment as part of the newhire orientation program. All employees must comply with IS security policies by signing a compliance agreement that is retained in their personnel file. IS Security policies and procedures must remain current and readily available (e.g., via the intranet site) for Information System users to review and understand them. Information Systems (IS) management must ensure that the terms and conditions of authorized system access are clearly communicated to potential users of those systems before access is granted. A formal process must exist to document that appropriate management was aware ...
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...Week 2 Discussion Question 1 4 * Identify the problems associated with patient confidentiality * Discuss the purpose of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. * Describe the information to which the Privacy Rule refers and how it applies to your profession. * Discuss the penalties for noncompliance with HIPAA. * Discuss electronic medical record (EMR) and its importance. Answers: 1) The disclosure of personal information could cause professional or personal problems; patients rely on physicians to keep their medical information private. It is rare for medical records to remain completely sealed, however. The most benign breach of confidentiality takes place when clinicians share medical information as case studies. When this data is published in professional journals the identity of the patient is never divulged, and all identifying data is either eliminated or changed. If this confidentiality is breached in any way, patients may have the right to sue. 2) In the year of1996 the Health Insurance portability and Accountability Act requires all professionals and organizations to guard the privacy of their patients and customers. Individuals must provide written consent for any and all releases of medical or health-related information. Employees at all levels are required to maintain confidentiality. Similar policies have been in place for some time. This was a requirement of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare...
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...Diane Hotaling HT1000 Week 3 assignment 3/18/2014 The 5W’s behind recent healthcare reform initiatives and how they have, are or can impact the delivery of healthcare and HIM professionals. There have been many controversies over healthcare reform ideas and all the issues that may or may not arise affecting everything from the delivery and costs to the patients, HIM and surrounding professionals roles, and the politicians and the different ideas they stand behind. Examples of some of the most influential and recent initiatives are HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)enforced in 1996 and ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) and its revision HITECH(Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Act) of 2009 Each of these reforms have impacted the delivery of healthcare and therefore everyone in the U.S and especially with each reform new challenges, changes, benefits and/or problems for the HIM professionals and their roles and all they consist of. An HIM professional can work in many environments, including from home, private offices, doctors offices, nursing homes, hospitals and anywhere else that healthcare and/or PHI and/or EHR are handled. The HIM profession not only exists physically in numerous healthcare places but can work in numerous areas in the field such as medical billing and coding, a secretary, in any health area as a clerk, with many electronic systems such as HHS, MPI, HER, RIS and so many more and as the medical...
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...information and be available to any department that may need access to it. To accomplish this ancillary departments use shadow charts that contain copies of any information they may need. Shadow charts should be maintains with the same safety and security as a primary chart and must be kept in locked files with access limited to authorized personnel. A2. Information Technology Staff It is the responsibility of Information Technology (IT) staff to educate the clinical staff on ways to diminish security breaches by securing their workstations when they are not being used. Teaching clinical staff the importance of not sharing passwords and securing stations will greatly help security. The IT staff could use a power point to explain the policy to staff along with the disciplinary policy for violation of company policy or the HIPAA Privacy Act. Criminal Liability Montana Code 41-1-402 states that a minor can consent to treatment if it is an emergency situation and the guardian is unavailable. a minor who needs emergency care, including transfusions, without which the minor's health will be jeopardized. If emergency care is rendered, the parent, parents, or legal guardian must be informed as soon as practical except under the circumstances mentioned in this subsection (2). (MLS,2011) Criminal liability could result if they do not follow this code correctly. A...
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...communication with providers. EMR helps provide information quicker and making access to information more accessible. There are some issues with privacy, such as HIPAA privacy, but it is becoming fixed rapidly. EMR opens up opportunity for social networking and media opportunities. The EMR markets health care and the services available with broader audiences. In this paper these topics will be discussed. “Patient doctor communication (PDC) is most powerful, encompassing, and versatile instruments available to the physician” (Shachak & Reis, n.p. 2009). The benefits offer to the patient is helping to share better understanding between patients and the doctors. The EMR had “positive influence on exchange of medical information” (Shachak & Reis, n.p. 2009). EMR helps patients to feel confident in asking questions and feeling there was accomplishments at the end of his or her appointment. The patients can login online with his or her provider and have communications with the clinic. For example, make appointments, see health history, current medications, and ask questions. EMRs are beneficial to patients. One aspect relating to values and importance of maintaining patient confidentiality when using EMR communication is the aspect of confidentiality for EMR. In regard to Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA), the privacy issues are there. An example would be “A psychiatrist from New Hampshire was fined $1,000 for repeatedly looking at the medical records of an...
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... 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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...passwords are extremely vulnerable to cracking techniques such as a brute force attack, in which a cracker uses an automated tool to try every single possible password or key until the correct one is found. Brute force techniques are extremely effective at cracking short passwords or passwords in a limited search space (such as those based off a dictionary word)”. For example, when working in a medical practice the information being protected is patient personal information. The password policy needs to be strict according to the HIPAA laws. The personal information within the patient’s medical record requires strict password protection. If the patient’s medical record is viewed by someone that is not authorized, it is considered a HIPAA violation. Reference Coconut Daily (May 17, 2013). The importance of a strong password policy. Retrieved from http://coconutdaily.com/importance-strong-password-policy/ TechRepublic (June 13, 2006). The importance of an effective password policy. Retrieved from...
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