Security of Health Information

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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. According to Legal and Ethical Aspects of Health Information Management, it is emphasized that security of health information is the protection of the confidentiality, privacy and security of health information. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “the number of hospital inpatient care and outpatient department care discharges exceeds 100.7 million” (CDC). That is over 100.7 million documents of private data a Health Information Management professional is held accountable for. The failure to preserve such data can result in breach of the HIPAA Privacy Rule pertaining to PHI. What is HIPAA? “The Health Insurance
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