A HIPAA Violation Occurs, and Client Data is Exposed to the Media
Information systems in healthcare
Preparing the assignment
Background
Healthcare is readily embracing any technology to improve patient outcomes, streamline operations, and lower costs, but we must also consider the impact of such technology on privacy and patient care.
Your faculty member will provide a scenario for you to address in your paper.
Choose an ending to the scenario, and construct your paper based on those reflections.
Choose one of the following outcomes:
1. A HIPAA violation occurs, and client data is exposed to the media.
2. A medication error has harmed a client.
3. A technology downtime that impacts patient care occurs, and an error is made.
4. A ransomware attack has occurred, and the organization must contemplate paying the ransom or lose access to patient data.
Follow these guidelines when completing this assignment. Speak with your faculty member if you have questions. Include the following sections:
a. Introduction - 40 points/17%
• Catches attention of the reader
• States purpose of the paper
• Provides a narrative outline of the paper (i.e., the assignment criteria)
b. HIPAA, Legal, and Regulatory Discussion - 40 points/17%
• Presents evidence from recent scholarly publications to address the impact of technology on nursing care related to:
• Patient privacy and HIPAA standards
• Healthcare regulations
• Legal guidelines on appropriate use of technology
c. Scenario Ending and Recommendations - 50 points/21%
• Selects and presents one scenario ending as the focus of the assignment.
• Evaluates the actions taken by healthcare providers as the situation evolved.
• Recommends actions that could have been taken to mitigate the circumstances presented in the selected scenario ending.
• Supports recommendations with evidence from recent scholarly publications.
d. Advantages and Disadvantages - 50 points/21%
• Presents evidence from recent scholarly publications to address the impact of technology on nursing care related to:
• The advantages of appropriately using technology in healthcare
• Risks of technology use in healthcare
• Describes professional and ethical principles guiding the appropriate use of technology in healthcare.
e. Conclusion and Reflections - 30 points/12%
• Summarizes what new information was learned by completing this assignment.
• Reflects on how this new knowledge will impact future behavior as a healthcare professional.
f. Scholarly Writing and APA Format - 30 points/12%
• Paper submitted as a Microsoft Word document.
• Adheres to current APA formatting guidelines including proper use of:
Introduction
The "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act" (HIPAA) of 1996 is a crucial regulation in healthcare. This law is a federal policy requiring the formulation of national standards that guard critical patient health data against their disclosure without consent. With the shifting healthcare operations and patient needs, technology is highly embraced in the sector. This discussion focuses on multiple aspects that aid in understanding the above regulations and how technology impacts them. The elements include the advantages and demerits of utilizing automation in healthcare. The analysis also incorporates a scenario ending to offer viable recommendations for remedying the strain presented. The lessons learned from the task highlight how the ideas impact future behavior.
HIPAA Regulatory and Legal Discussion
According to the HIPAA guidelines, patients' privacy represents the freedoms granted in terms of their health data. The policy creates limitations and rules on who can receive and look at patients' health information (Mbonihankuye et al., 2019). Technology impacts this privacy in multiple ways. An excellent example is linked to how healthcare providers use computers to store sensitive information concerning patients to guarantee the data's security. With increasing technological use, health facilities can effectively embrace medical automation that safeguards patient safety. Providers can receive alerts on consultations, diagnosis reports, and reminders, making safeguarding information related to these aspects easy. In addition, nurses can leverage technology and join online meetings that ensure rules are designed accordingly.
The legal guidelines linked to appropriate technological use in healthcare are essential because they guard patient safety. These rules entail establishing secure system controls and networks to protect against information leakage in unique instances like remote working. By doing so, it becomes challenging for criminals to intrude into patient data unnecessarily. Another regulation involves educating stakeholders and workers on technology to make them well-versed with it. This technique should be considered by both new and old employees. Doing so will guarantee a balance in how they are informed of possible threats from technology. Health facilities should receive security assessments of their current systems to ensure they align with contemporary safety issues.
Any technological tool storing patient health information must have automatic functions that enable it to log out after a specific time. Such a strategy prevents unauthorized individuals from accessing data (Feldman et al., 2018). Anybody with access to patient data should have unique login details that can be audited according to their use. Therefore, the entity's management can easily hold specific persons responsible whenever errors occur. For instance, responsible officials can follow up when mistakes arise in the medical department. Eventually, relevant rules stipulated against such persons should be applied accordingly. The rules should be applied to all individuals irrespective of their rank in the facility to enhance equality.
Scenario Ending and Suggestions
In a scenario where HIPAA violation occurs, exposing patient information to media platforms would mean violating patients' right to data protection. Healthcare providers engage in multiple actions. For instance, one can leak passwords to the wrong individuals who later access data not intended for them. Staff members can also unite and agree to keep their activities private to ensure no action is taken against them. I recommend numerous aspects to remedy the ...