Ethics Paper
Administrative Ethics Paper Sophia Golden HCS/335 Gail Garren May 20, 2012
Administrative Ethics Paper Patient privacy has been a large issue in the healthcare field for a long time. The increasing uses of new technology patient medical information are being viewed more and more by other people. Physicians and nurses have access to patient health information; but others allied health professionals, social workers, medical records and medical records technicians (Pendrak & Ericon, 1998). Healthcare professional responsibility is to protect the patient privacy rights when it comes to their health information. Legal and Ethical Issues There are laws that healthcare organizations have to follow to maintain the confidentiality of their patient’s medical records and provide legal protection on computerize or electronically transfer patient information (Pendrak & Ericon, 1998). The protection of patient privacy is an ongoing concern in states laws and the lack of clarity in federal requirements. There are not strict guidelines in some healthcare facilities that require staff members to follow the patient privacy information because government guidelines are not followed the way it needs to be followed. The rapid advancement with medical technology is changing the pace on how the laws have designed to protect patient privacy. In 1996 the government attempted to address the issue on the confidentiality on patient by introducing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). In this Act there are monetary penalties and prison terms for wrongful disclosure of individual medical information. However the uniform national medical records privacy standards was not set at this time. There are standards that healthcare organizations must follow under HIPAA. The electronic health transactions have certain standards all healthcare organizations must
Administrative Ethics Paper Patient privacy has been a large issue in the healthcare field for a long time. The increasing uses of new technology patient medical information are being viewed more and more by other people. Physicians and nurses have access to patient health information; but others allied health professionals, social workers, medical records and medical records technicians (Pendrak & Ericon, 1998). Healthcare professional responsibility is to protect the patient privacy rights when it comes to their health information. Legal and Ethical Issues There are laws that healthcare organizations have to follow to maintain the confidentiality of their patient’s medical records and provide legal protection on computerize or electronically transfer patient information (Pendrak & Ericon, 1998). The protection of patient privacy is an ongoing concern in states laws and the lack of clarity in federal requirements. There are not strict guidelines in some healthcare facilities that require staff members to follow the patient privacy information because government guidelines are not followed the way it needs to be followed. The rapid advancement with medical technology is changing the pace on how the laws have designed to protect patient privacy. In 1996 the government attempted to address the issue on the confidentiality on patient by introducing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). In this Act there are monetary penalties and prison terms for wrongful disclosure of individual medical information. However the uniform national medical records privacy standards was not set at this time. There are standards that healthcare organizations must follow under HIPAA. The electronic health transactions have certain standards all healthcare organizations must
References: 1. AMA-assn.com (2011). Patient Physician Relationship Topics. Patient Confidentiality. Retrieved May19, 2012 from http://www.ama-assn.com 2. . Training-HIPAA.net (2011). HIPAA Laws, HIPAA Privacy Regulations, HIPAA Security Rule Guidelines. Retrieved May 20, 2012, from http://www.training-HIPAA.net 3. Pendrak, R. & Ericson, R. (1998, October). Healthcare Financial Management. Information Technologies Need to Protect Patient Confidentiality. Retrieved May 20, 2012, from http://www.findarticles.com 4. . E-Notes.com (2011). Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health. Patient Confidentiality. Retrieved May 19, 2012, from http://www.e-notes.com 5.