Protected Health Information (PHI)
School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Capella University
NURS-FPX4040 Managing Health Information and Technology
April 18, 2022
Protected Health Information (PHI)
Recently developed technologies have aided the global spread of healthcare digitalization. There is a higher danger of data breaches in terms of security, confidentiality, and privacy due to the rising use of technology in healthcare (He et al., 2021). The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in response to concerns about the improper use of health information technology. HIPAA ensures that patients’ health records are kept private and secure. The principal purposes of this legislation are to protect the health insurance of those who leave their employment and to lower healthcare expenses via the uniformity of electronic transmission of financial and administrative processes. In line with this statute, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the HIPAA Security Rule. How protected health information (PHI) regarding patients may be used and disclosed is a central topic of the Privacy Rule. The primary purpose of the Privacy Rule is to guarantee the secure transmission of health records, which is necessary for the advancement and provision of high-quality care services. In addition, the HIPAA Security Rule protects the information that falls under the scope of the Privacy Rule (CDC, 2020). Every healthcare worker must show multidisciplinary dedication to social media and EHR in order to achieve the minimum standards of preserving the privacy of patients, preferences, and values.
Privacy, Security and Confidentiality
The primary duty of healthcare practitioners when using technology to protect health information is to ensure patient privacy, confidentiality, and security. Since social media platforms are vehicles for reaching a large number of individuals, this consideration is especially important when working with these tools (Singh et al., 2022).
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To protect a patient’s privacy, it is necessary to adhere to the procedures they have established for safeguarding their personal health information. Since providers are involved in every step of a patient’s care, from diagnosis to treatment, it is their duty to protect the confidentiality of their patients’ medical records (Singh et al., 2022). The term “security” refers to the measures hospitals and other medical facilities take to protect their patients’ medical histories. Confidentiality, on the other hand, is defined as the restrictions placed on healthcare practitioners in regards to the disclosure of patient information to parties outside of the healthcare system, such as insurance companies, other health organizations, or professionals (Singh et al., 2022).
Some of the multidisciplinary approaches recommended to safeguard sensitive medical data include the use of complex passwords, the enforcement of regulations that limit information sharing to authorized persons, the encryption of data to prevent interception, and the routine changing of passwords. These methods have been shown to be helpful in safeguarding patients’ health information and improving the quality of care providers give (Theodos & Sittig, 2021). Although general precautions, such as always logging out of a computer…
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system after usage and using strong passwords on work-issued mobile devices, may help keep patient data safe, individual healthcare providers should devise their own methods to further improve security standards.
Evidence Relating to Social Media Usage and PHI
The need of keeping sensitive information safe has grown across industries as technology has developed, but the healthcare industry is no exception. The usage of social media has clearly expanded in the healthcare industry as a result of this epidemic, both as a means of avoiding great distances and as a means of saving time. In modern healthcare facilities, breaches of HIPAA privacy regulations and standards have been linked to healthcare personnel’ careless usage of social media platforms (Kleib et al., 2022). Moreover, smartphones and tablets have browsers that provide access to a plethora of media platforms that encourage content debate, link sharing, photo sharing, and other kinds of inter-personal information transmission. As a consequence, this paradigm facilitates the transfer of sensitive patient information between healthcare professionals, which might compromise patients’ right to privacy and security (Kleib et al., 2022). Therefore, it is the duty of individual healthcare providers to maintain and regularly monitor the content of this platform in a way that protects the privacy and confidentiality of their patients’ health information. In addition, professional boundaries should be included into online patient interactions. A healthcare provider has a duty to ensure that only the intended recipient is getting treatment, and that no unauthorized individuals are taking part in the exchange (Arvisais-Anhalt et al., 2022).
Professionalism and discretion in accordance with federal and organizational privacy rules and guidelines should be second nature to every healthcare worker (Arvisais-Anhalt et al., 2022). Irresponsible sharing of health information through social media platforms can lead to legal proceedings and license cancellation.
References
Arvisais-Anhalt, S., Lau, M., Lehmann, C. U., Holmgren, A. J., Medford, R. J., Ramirez, C. M., & Chen, C. N. (2022). The 21st century cures act and multiuser electronic health record access: potential pitfalls of information release. Journal of medical Internet research, 24(2), e34085.https://doi.org/10.2196/34085
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). 2018. https://www. cdc. gov/phlp/publications/topic/hipaa
He, W., Zhang, Z. J., & Li, W. (2021). Information technology solutions, challenges, and suggestions for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. International journal of information management, 57, 102287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102287
Kleib, M., Nagle, L. M., Furlong, K. E., Paul, P., Wisnesky, U. D., & Ali, S. (2022). Are future nurses ready for digital health?: informatics competency baseline assessment. Nurse Educator, 47(5), E98-E104. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000001199
Singh, S., Rathore, S., Alfarraj, O., Tolba, A., & Yoon, B. (2022). A framework for privacy-preservation of IoT healthcare data using Federated Learning and blockchain technology. Future Generation Computer Systems, 129, 380-388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2021.11.028
Theodos, K., & Sittig, S. (2021). Health information privacy laws in the digital age: HIPAA doesn’t apply. Perspectives in health information management, 18(Winter). https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocz090