Preview

Henrietta Lacks

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
894 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Henrietta Lacks
After reading the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, what stood out was the root of how Henrietta’s cells went universal. A sample of cervical tissue was taken and a doctor asked David or Day to do an autopsy on Henrietta for the sake of their children. By using Normandale’s College Library course quick start, searching for an article of interest took some time. In Academic Search Premier, I read a few like Our Body, Our Cells; and Returning the Blessings Of an Immortal Life. I then typed HIPAA into the search engine. The first and most recent one was titled HIPAA Fine Is a First by Jessica Zigmond. In this essay, I will relate the article to the book by bringing to surface thoughts you may or may not have critically pondered throughout the reading.
What does HIPAA stand for, what does it mean? And why is it so important? HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This law helps maintain privacy of health information, which prevents improper use of ones medical records. If you work in a hospital or clinic, every employee receives a thick packet on HIPAA. If you’re like me, you might skim through it on a thirty minute break and not pay it any mind. (It’s the truth). Because of not reading that packet, I never understood what it was about or its importance. After absorbing Henrietta’s story, thank goodness this Act was approved when it was, which was1996. The article HIPAA Fine Is First displayed the consequences by not practicing this Act. In Zigmonds article June of this year 2011, Cignet Health Center refused 41 patients of obtaining any medical records, even upon request. HIPAA states records are to be given to a patient no later than 60 days. For not doing so, Health and Human services (HHS) fined the company with 4.3 million dollars. 1.3 million by not following HIPAA and 3 million for not cooperating with HHS. If this Act was approved over fifty years ago, Henrietta would not be known worldwide due to medical classification,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Knowing exactly what HIPAA, (Health Insurance Probability and Accountability Act), is and understanding how the implications from the prospective of the HIPAA confidentiality. In 1996 HIPAA was enacted by Congress as a way to protect the patient’s health information from being inappropriately used. The restrictions made by HIPAA have changed how medical records are handled and who can access the patient’s information. There are four parts to HIPAA, the first part is the…

    • 1639 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Henrietta Lacks always felt like there was something wrong with her. She literally felt like there was a knot in her gut, and all along she was right; there was something horribly wrong with her. She had cancer and it wasn’t long until she grew tumors in various parts of her body. She attended John Hopkins hospital for treatments of radium. During several visits and treatments, small tissue pieces were collected. Not only did doctors take two dime sized pieces of her cervical tissue from her, but also they took them without any consent. Rebecca Skloot, the author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks exposes the history of HeLa, but also the story of Henrietta Lacks and her family. The story examines the HeLa cells discovery, and the ethical debate about taking any body products or parts without consent of the patient. The researchers who wanted the immortal cells wanted it for the reasons to cure cancer. The author goes in great detail about the laws in 1950’s, and that there were none regarding researching without consent. The author argues that the country has always been market based, and that it always will be. Products of all kinds will always be bought and sold. Rebecca Skloot went into great search for Henrietta’s family. She wanted to uncover the woman behind the cells by getting both sides of…

    • 2410 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hippa Violation

    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages

    HIPAA, is a federal law that contains national standards, created to protect a patient’s medical…

    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    In August of 1996 congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) patients began to see an improvement in the access and consistency of the health insurance coverage. It was not until April 14, 2003 that the privacy portion was passed protection personal health information. Many states have individual laws that were already in place to protect the health information of patients. HIPAA was not intended to eliminate the state law but to cover that which was not addressed by state laws. The state law will prevail providing it is more stringent than the HIPAA policy. In general, the passing of the HIPAA gave patients additional information and greater access to personal medical information while protecting that same information from inappropriate disclosure. Some of the protected information that has raised controversial concerns is regarding a minor’s right to privacy and parental access.…

    • 1460 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in 1996 to safeguard medical information. Records previously were usually kept in file cabinets and were basically not protected. With the introduction of electronically transferring medical data, it became important to secure this information. HIPAA ensures how, when, where, and to whom this medical information can be distributed along with specific rules to follow.…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On July 1, 1997 the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), was put into law by the United States Congress. The act was put into place to improve portability of health insurance coverage, to reduce fraud and abuse in health insurance, reduce the cost and administrative burdens, and to protect the privacy of Americans personal health records and protecting the security of a patient’s health care information. This act was placed to group all regulations together and work to fight against fraud and abuse to patient’s rights. HIPPA was put into place to improve the health care system all together by providing consequences to those who disobey the regulations of HIPPAA. PHI (patient’s healthcare information) can be requested by several different agencies and representatives without or with the patients consent. PHI information can be identified by a patients name, telephone number, address, and Medicaid ID number, date of birth, name of employer or social security number. (Green & Bowie, 2005).…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Henrietta Lacks

    • 1418 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Henrietta lacks, a 31 year old black woman who passed away from cervical cancer in Baltimore's Johns Hopkins hospital. Her life was nothing but ordinary at the time yet she went on to be one of the most important people in our history. Henrietta was responsible for the development of numerous vaccines, treatments, careers, significant advancement of medical knowledge, and wealth for others. Howard Jones, her doctor, had sent tissue samples of her carcinoma to Dr.Gey for unrelated testing for an experiment he was conducting without consent. Dr.Gey had been in search for cells that would grow and multiply inside a lab, outside of the body in hopes to find a cure for cancer; he had been taking samples from all his patients without consent in his pursuit. Her cells were taken and sold for large profits, as HeLa, without her and her family’s knowledge while she was being treated and then by deception post mortem. In the book it is mentioned that her identity is kept hidden by Dr.Gey for her safety and patient information confidentiality even though it was not law; publication of her name could have caused nuisance to the hospital. As a result she failed to get recognition in the field of medicine. Upon the discovery of her cells twenty-five years later after her death her family was in disbelief; her husband, David Lacks, “had not signed any paper.” The Lacks received no financial benefit as the HeLa line made millions of dollars. They were unaware of the fact that genetic testing had been done on them and published; also didn’t have the means to contact a lawyer. As a matter of fact a similar case in the name of John Moore v. Regents of the University of California was in trial for the same reasons. Dr.Golde chose to not get consent and used deception to obtain and then develop and patent the Mo cell line which is estimated to be worth three billion…

    • 1418 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Improving Patient Care

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Health insurance portability and accountability act also known as HIPAA was passed by congress back in 1996 to give patients’ rights over their health care privacy. With all the new technology that has been introduced into health care insurances and providers are able to conduct patient information electronically. By 2015 everything will be processed through computers and laptops nothing will be done on paper anymore. With that being said congress had to provide additional privacy protection for patients. According to Richard Gartee, “before HIPAA, no generally accepted set of security standards or general requirements for protecting health information existed in the healthcare industry. At the same time, new technologies were evolving, and the healthcare industry began to move away from paper processes and rely more heavily on the use of computers to pay claims, answer eligibility questions, provide health information, and conduct a host of…

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    HIPAA is used to safeguard and protect patient information and without the use of HIPAA, private patient information could be exposed. HIPAA is critical because it could have an effect on health care workers, patients and the health care facility as well. Violation of HIPAA laws could cause a health care worker to lose their job, it could violate a patient’s rights, and it could damage the facility’s credibility.…

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    HIPAA Privacy Rule

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The HIPAA Privacy Rule, is to protect the privacy of individually identifiable health information. While the HIPAA Security Rule, makes the national standards for the security of electronic protected health information. These rules are a huge part of the healthcare field because they can really be helpful when it comes down to putting them to use. Personally, after reading all this information it makes me more nervous about starting my job in the medical field. Not because I don’t want to do it but because I am afraid to make a careless mistake that can cause me my job. Thankfully I am getting the right knowledge and training to prepare me not to make careless mistakes.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    HIPAA Violation Paper

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Department of Health & Human Services office for Civil Rights, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law that states established rules who can have an access and obtain our medical information and record. The HIPAA law protects patient’s privacy, explains at what occasion the health information and medical records can be shared. Doctors, pharmacist, our health plan, and other health care providers are required to explain to patients how and when health records can be used and shared. By signing the form, Notice of Privacy Practice, at the doctor’s office patients are informed of their rights…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    This paper will present the basic principles of HIPAA and when who and how it’s education should be shared with health care workers. Employees should only have such patient health records as their job responsibilities requires and I will explain in my report why it is important to only be on the need to know basic. I will also show an outline of what’s important in knowing HIPAA rules and regulations when you are interviewing and or being hired for a position in the healthcare profession. There are consequences of violation of the HIPAA and federal laws that…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Henrietta Lacks

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, tells the story of a women, Henrietta Lacks, and her family. Ms. Lacks was treated for cervical cancer at John’s Hopkins Hospital in 1951. Her malignant cervical cells were harvested and distributed to become the first “immortal” cell line widely used for scientific research, including their use in the development of the polio vaccine. The story tells what happened after Ms. Lacks’ death to her family, a poor African American family living in Maryland. A family who, today, would be considered poor. The story brings up key ethical issues of biomedical research, which were evolving during that era (Skloot, Rebecca).…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Essay On HIPAA

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or better known as (HIPAA) began in 1996 as an Act to help individuals keep their health insurance as they moved from one job to another. As the future brought new advancements HIPAA evolved to include much more than portability. HIPAA now includes many complex rules to protect patient privacy along with the use of information technology that transfers medical records.…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Hipaa Important

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages

    HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) is United States legislation that provides data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information. HIPPA, like any other organization, comes with certain rules that need to be followed. The most common rules involved with HIPAA include the Privacy Rule, Security Rule, and Enforcement Rule.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays