Security of Health Information Tiffany Jefferson August 28, 2013 Professor Riggins, T. Health Information Law & Ethics Section 3 In the Health care organization the security of health information places a significantly high value on protecting the confidentiality, privacy, accuracy and security of health information. Today, private patient information can be accessed and viewed by an anonymous healthcare professional within the healthcare organization, thus, allowing unauthorized access to private information. In addition, when a certified healthcare provider such as the HIM fails to secure private health information that HIM professional places private patient information at risk for exposure. Because of these reasons, regulations such as the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) exist to ensure and to reinforce the nondisclosure and alteration of health information. Furthermore, the severity of securing health information is essential and it impacts the Health Information Management professional and if there is a breach of privacy, the contributions a HIM professional makes in response to these challenges is significantly important in the maintenance and security of health information.
Patient Confidentiality: When Should It Be Compromised? Patient confidentiality is a person’s right to have their personal information kept private. Any medical data gathered from a patient should not be disclosed to anybody else without the patient’s permission. Confidentiality is a crucial part of the doctor-patient relationship. It is very important that a patient trust their doctor.
There is also the Data protection act 1998 this relates to how information is used and has 8 rues that cover how data is protected and collected and that service users or their representatives (solicitors) must know where their data is being kept lastly there is the Freedom of information act 2000 which allows people to know/ find out what information organisers store and know about them. The Human Rights Act 1998 protects you rights under the European convention on human rights article 8 says that you have the right to respect for your “private and family life.” This means that a doctor may be breaching your human rights if they disclose your personal information, such as your medical records, without your consent. It is very important to record and store information in secure systems this is to keep confidentiality and protect all individuals’ rights including clients and staff it also protects against identity theft. Information when stored safely and correctly it is easier to
Understand how to handle information in social care settings 1.1 The Data Protection Act 1998 is a key piece of legislation to ensure people's rights regarding the confidentiality of their personal information. It highlights 8 principles that define good practice when handling someone else's personal data and breaching these principles can lead to serious legal implications. In health and social care many policies and procedures are based on the principles of the Data Protection Act to ensure that client details remain confidential. The Human Rights Act 1998 also states the right to a private life. The right to have one's private life respected also includes that private and confidential information gets respected and that details are shared and stored in accordance with strict rules and regulations.
This would mean employees would not have titles and instead of reporting to a boss, they would report to each other by means of open communication regarding the commitments that each of them makes regarding their work. The position of Vice President and Manager would be eliminated. Instead of being accountable to and reporting to just one boss, all employees would be accountable to each other. Every employee will write a personal mission statement that outlines how they will contribute to BladeTech’s goal of providing valuable tech services to customers. It is this mission statement that becomes that becomes the boss and drives them to fulfill their mission.
This is a big deal when dealing with medical records. Since I do medical records, I must always get a written consent before I release any information. With the privacy act, I must be sure not to disclose private information concerning things happening at my job. Being sure not to release unauthorized information is crucial in my professional career. One last guideline is giving credit for work done by others.
Keeping my knowledge and skills up to date. I protect confidential information except when safety or public interest conflicts it. I keep accurate records of what has happened in each client’s folder. I provide a service to a standard that I would like to receive. Every health worker has a duty of care not just to clients but to themselves and work colleagues.
(ACAS, 2011) Records We Keep Our organisation collects Sickness and Absence data so we can: * Monitor employee’s absences to identify patterns or trends. * The data can be used in appraisals ensuring the organisation has the accurate data could be vital in a dispute with an employee * It could identify issues with employee welfare to enable the organisation to offer support. Remuneration data is held to: * Enable the organisation to use for performance management, recruitment and retaining
such as issues relating to human rights, the duty of confidentiality as part of duty of care, accuracy. The information is permanent once it has been written down. The information is very personal such as, bank details or medical history, This needs to be kept as confidential as possible. Task B Information leaflet Bi - Information can be obtain from the line manager. Then you would ask the main supervisor if the line manager cannot answer your enquiry.
Explain why it is important to have secure systems for recording, storing and sharing information in a health and social care setting: Current legislation requires everyone working in social care to maintain certain records and keep them secure. Different employers will invariably store different records and often in different ways. Most of this information is sensitive and therefore not available to the general public so it is important that information is stored, shared and recorded securely: • So that information held regarding supported individuals and staff are protected from unauthorised viewing • To adhere to legislation (DPA 1998) and (FOI 2000) • To allow important information to be accessible by health care providers, social services and entitled family members etc., It maintains the trust of the individuals you are supporting • It ensures there is written evidence for you to refer back to if there is a complaint, • Explain where and from whom to get advice and information about handling