There are many ways that privacy and security concerns are addressed. Participating in health information exchange will bring up security and liability concerns. Many clinicians worry that if HIE members have easier access to important patient information, then who else will too? Identity theft causes great concern in the health field. With technology arising, more and more data and information may be shared with other organizations to other provider which makes it easier for a patient’s identity to be stolen. Data fraud occurs with both paper documents and electronic documents; however, a break of electronic records may influence a greater number of records than a breach of paper documents. “While some have pointed out that paper-based records systems have long been subject to breaches of…
Education is key. Educate all staff (as most breaches occurred at healthcare provider facilities) on HIPAA rules and regulations and on AHIMA's information governance policies and implement disciplinary measures if breaches are discovered. AHIMA's information governance policies set up guidelines for policies and procedures to help protect information and avoid data breaches. Facilities also must educate staff on the proper use of computer systems used within the facility. If all staff are educated on what is expected of them and informed of disciplinary actions in the event of a breach, then I think that would reduce many breaches by staff. On another front, all information must be encrypted to reduce the chance of hackers…
Security and Privacy are major issues. Healthcare law requirements and privacy concerns would be an important part of the program and need to be addressed.…
Healthcare companies, like ABC Healthcare, that operate as for-profit entities, are facing a multitude of challenges. The regulatory environment is becoming more restrictive, viruses and worms are growing more pervasive and damaging, and ABC Healthcare’s stakeholders are demanding more flexible access to their systems.…
Anyone with a laptop or tablet could access the network and with only few basic network utilities could access all the servers and all the patient information. Most of these facilities are not implementing any Network Security because of the cost associated with it. “Most healthcare organizations nationwide, some 61 percent to be exact, reported a security related incident in the form of security breach, data loss or unplanned downtime at least once this past year, according to a new health IT report by MeriTalk, a public-private organization working to improve government information technology. These security events cost U.S. hospitals an estimated $1.6 billion each year. Breaking it down by incident, hospitals should expect to hand over on average $810,000 per security breach, which occurs at nearly one in five healthcare organizations nationwide” (healthcareitnews.com). I hope that with this project I can make clear the benefits of securing the network and the steps we need to take to set up and secure the…
Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of RHITs is expected to grow by 21% between 2010 and 2020, which is considered faster than the average for all occupations. This is due in part to the aging of the U.S. population, which is increasing demand for all types of medical services. The emergence of electronic health records is also creating new opportunities for RHITs with strong computer skills. The increasing use of electronic health records (EHRs) will continue to change the job responsibilities of health information technicians. Federal legislation provides incentives for physicians’ offices and hospitals to implement EHR systems into their practice. This will lead to continued adoption of this software in these facilities. Technicians will need to be familiar with, or be able to learn, EHR computer software, follow EHR security and privacy practices, and analyze electronic data to improve healthcare information as more healthcare providers and hospitals adopt EHR…
As a person comes closer to becoming a registered health information technician (RHIT) they must take an exam to become certified. This exam consists of 150 multiple choice question on subjects such as; data analysis and management, coding, compliance, information technology, quality, legal, and revenue cycle. The individual has three and a half hours to complete this exam.…
Healthcare organizations are under strict compliance to HIPPA privacy requirements which require that an organization have proper security controls for handling personal healthcare information (PHI) privacy data. This includes security controls for the IT infrastructure handling PHI privacy data. Which one of the listed risks, threats, or vulnerabilities can violate HIPPA privacy requirements? List one and justify and justify your answer in one or two sentences.…
Perhaps the first question that risk managers must consider is professional liability. The growth of telemedicine technology may increase malpractice claims by raising patient expectations and creating new medical procedures that physicians must use to stay current. One unique challenge for telemedicine is to balance the necessary expansion of manpower to manage an electronic system with the increased number of people who have potential access to a patient’s records. Currently, telemedicine requires a technical staff to run the system that is completely independent from the medical team (Nohr, 2000). Additionally, because of technological constraints, the transmission of information over internet or web-based systems lends itself to hackers and other potential exposure. Protocols must be meticulously followed to ensure that patients are informed about all participants in a telemedicine consultation and that the privacy and confidentiality of the patient are maintained, as well as ensuring the integrity of any data/images transmitted (Erbetta, 1999).…
OUTCOME 1: Understand the need for secure handling of information in health and social care settings…
In the move toward electronic health records for patient’s there are obstacles that have to be addressed, procedures implemented into the process, and security maintained at the highest level.…
Protecting healthcare information is very essential in any organization. With the current trend in healthcare and the proliferation of technology, acquiring methods and avenues to control and prevent the invasion of the patients’ information is imperative. Identifying different forms of security breaches and instituting measures to implement and safeguard specific standards, policies, and procedures against leaking e-PHIs to attackers and hackers, will maintain patients’ integrity and promote growth of the organization.…
The security and privacy standards have had a major impact on the collection and distribution of information and will continue in the years to come. One of the purposes is to protect individuals from losing their health insurance when leaving and/ or changing jobs and by providing portability. This will also increase the government’s authority over fraud and abuse while the data is transferred from one facility to another. In addition, patients benefited from the ongoing health care management’s promise to provide high quality of care. This is important because there are many risks of security breaches. Hospital staff is being tempted to sell private information and HIPAA helps set standards and the facilities enforce the consequences of breaking the rules. Another advantage for patients is the privilege of accessing their own…
Any past current or future information about a patient and their medical conditions or treatment received are protected under this law. This includes sending and receiving electronic data between dr. offices. Information of this type is need to know only for physicians and nurses who are in direct care of the patient.…
In the world of technology today, consumers often purchase items through the internet using their personal information such as name, date of birth and credit card numbers. This information can easily be stolen from someone who seeks to exploit weakness in a computer network. According, to (Gagne, 2012), “data breaches often occur through technical vulnerabilities, malware, compromised user credentials or opportunist attackers”. Healthcare organizations maintain patient medical and personal information through an electronic source called the electronic health record. Healthcare quality and safety requires that the right information be available at the right time to support patient care and health system management decisions. Data breaches in healthcare have become common within the last few years which is a violation of the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act of 1996 and patient privacy. Data security is a major concern pertaining to consumers choosing a health care organization to fit their needs. Care providers and insurance companies face the increased enforcement of regulatory requirements to ensure patients of their personal information secure. The key steps to achieving data security in healthcare organizations is to following policies and procedure, conduct audit trails, data classification, data protection, encryption and disaster recovery/business continuity.…
