DNP 805 Topic 1 Discussion 1
Select a specific health care technology-related regulation, law, statute, or ethical standard that applies to informatics. Provide a summary of your example and a statement describing your reasoning either in support of the example you select, or in opposition to it. Take into consideration the ethics of a Christian worldview in relation to the ethical standard, etc. in your summary.
Over time, patient care has grown to be a largely technology-driven practice. Health care professionals record patient data technologically and use similar means to coordinate care. Critical patient information is shared every day as health care providers implement informatics in health care delivery. However, the process is riskier than ever before and exposes patients to more harm and abuse of private health information. Regulations and laws have been integral in protecting and securing private patient data.
One of the widely used regulations is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). It contains crucial provisions for health insurance coverage and reducing Medicare fraud, but protecting the privacy and security information applies to informatics (Alexander et al., 2019). The privacy rules focus primarily on the rights of the patient. It emphasizes the need for patient consent when sharing private information (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2018). Under HIPAA, standards were established to protect health information transmitted verbally, electronically, visually, or in paper formats (Alexander et al., 2019). The HIPAA also obliges health care professionals to secure confidential information, particularly in electronic health records (EHRs). Keshta and Odeh (2021) noted that EHRs are common sources of privacy breaches since patient data can be accessed by unauthorized individuals who can use it for non-medical reasons. As a result, any identifiable patient information requires technical, administrative, and physical safeguards.
I support the use of HIPAA in protecting and securing protected health information. As health care professionals guided by the Christian worldview, ensuring that patient care is ethical is not optional. As health care providers collect, store, and share confidential patient data, privacy and security should be key considerations. HIPAA provides measures to secure information shared electronically. It ensures that appropriate standards are followed, and violation is punished accordingly. Through HIPAA, patients are less vulnerable to security breaches typical when using computer and technology systems in health care delivery.
References
Alexander, S., Frith, K. H., & Hoy, H. (Eds.). (2019). Applied clinical informatics for nurses (2nd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
CDC. (2018). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/publications/topic/hipaa.html
Keshta, I., & Odeh, A. (2021). Security and privacy of electronic health records: Concerns and challenges. Egyptian Informatics Journal, 22(2), 177-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eij.2020.07.003
