Research Paper on "Patient Privacy and Security of Information"

Research Paper 5 pages (1794 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Patient Privacy and Security Information

Over the last several decades, the way health care information is stored and retrieved has become an issue of heated debate. Part of the reason for this is changes that are occurring in the way health care services are provided. Where, there is greater accountability and more follow up from a variety of stakeholders to include: medical providers, insurance companies, consumers and regulators. The reason why is because many of these different stakeholders (especially insurance companies and regulators) want to ensure that the services are: cost effective and accurate. This is in response to changes in various health care laws over the years and the need to verify, the services provided to the patient. The problem is that the information contained in a patient's personal file, has detailed facts about the individual and their underlying levels of health. In America, this is challenging because one of the basic principals in the Constitution, allows everyone the right privacy. As a result, various laws and regulations have been passed over the years, to help provide some kind of balance. These are designed to ensure a reasonable way of verifying patient information and protecting the person's right to privacy. To fully understand the impact of these laws on stakeholders requires: examining the strengths, weaknesses and the major challenges to success. Together, these different elements will provide the greatest insights as to the impact that patient privacy and security laws are having on various stakeholders.

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The issue of patient privacy and security has been conti

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nually debated since the 1970's. This is because as the health care industry was evolving, there was more detailed information that was kept about conversations and possible conditions that someone may have. In some cases, this information could contain facts about various ailments that someone could be suffering from such as: cancer or heart disease. In other cases, the medical files of an individual could contain personal information that may be used for illicit purposes. A good example of this occurred after the release of the Pentagon Papers in 1969 -- 1970. What happened was Daniel Ellsberg was a trusted confidant of the White House Foreign Policy Adviser Henry Kissinger. The release of these documents would show; that the White House was conducting an intensive campaign of escalating the War in Vietnam, during a time when the public was becoming disillusioned with the war. Ellsberg was charged criminally for these actions. However, the United States Supreme Court overturned the case, citing that the government lacked substantial evidence and that the actions Ellsberg had taken were within the law. The results were that President Nixon wanted to discredit Ellsberg at all costs. There had been rumors that he was using illegal drugs and was known to see a psychiatrist. When the FBI asked Ellsberg's psychiatrist for his files, he refused. This would lead the CIA hiring a team of operatives, to break into Ellsberg psychiatrist's office, where they found nothing. As a result, this would set the stage for a future burglary at the Watergate Hotel, leading to Nixon's resignation. This is significant, because the event underscores how the information contained in personal medical files, can be used for illegal purposes. In the case of Ellsberg, the information was going to be used to discredit him publically (if something useful was contained in his files). (Knight, 2003, pg. 538)

The events involving the burglary of Ellsberg psychiatrist's offices, would indirectly lead to the passage of the Privacy Act of 1974. This would define how information is stored, collected, retrieved and utilized by various federal agencies. In the years following the passage of the law, mainly medical professionals, regulators and insurance companies; would seek access to various pieces of personal medical information. As technology began to improve during the 1980's and early 1990's, obvious concerns began to arise about how this information could be used. ("The Privacy Act," 2003) This would lead to the passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA). It would contain a number of provisions that would indirectly address the issue of privacy to include: it protects individual from losing their health insurance if they are laid off from their employer, it contains provisions relating to taxes and there is a privacy rule. (Green, 2006, pg.261) The privacy rule would define different circumstances, requiring the approval from the patient, before releasing such information. Together, the two different laws would form the basic foundation, as to how issues of privacy and security would be handled. (Harman, 2006, pp. 51 -- 65)

Strengths

The overall strengths with both laws are that they represented a step forward, in addressing the issue of privacy and security. With the Privacy Act providing an initial foundation; as to who should be controlling this kind of information. HIPPA would take this principal one step further and would give patients, greater control over who has access to their personal information. These two laws are significant, because they provide a foundation for the protection of personal information; while ensuring that there is a way that this can be obtained, under certain conditions. For the different stakeholders the impacts would vary. In the case of: health care providers, insurance companies and regulators; this would have an impact upon them, by requiring stricter procedures in following / enforcing the law. For the consumer, this would mean that they would have greater protections when it came to personal privacy. (Gross, 2010)

Weaknesses

Despite, both laws providing a basic foundation on protecting the privacy of the individual, they also had obvious weaknesses. As far as the Privacy Act is concerned, this law would only apply to various federal agencies. This is problematic, because it did little to address the issues of protecting the privacy of patients, outside of the federal government. Where, if someone was using a private health care facility or insurance company, they would not be protected under the law. HIPPA would have a major weakness as well to include: issues when patient authorization is not required. Despite the obvious protections that are granted under the Privacy Rule, there are several different exemptions that could apply to include: providing information to other health care providers, releasing information for payment reimbursement, internal business audits, disclosing information to the individual, providing information on behalf of the public and disclosing information that is incidental to doing business. This is significant, because it shows how the general provisions do provide some basic protection for the patient, yet under certain situations this may not be applicable. For medical providers, insurance companies and regulators; this helps to make the process of obtaining personal information as part of doing business easier. However, it also makes the issue surrounding privacy more confusing, as there are certain times when the law applies and when it does not. For the patient, this means that they have blanket privacy protection. Yet, under certain circumstances this protection would not apply, which could make the law useless at certain times. This is because an entity could use the exemptions as a way to circumvent the law. (Harman, 2006, pp. 51 -- 65)

Major Challenges to Success

The major challenges to success going forward are: being able to strike a balance between following the law and ensuring that it is not overreaching. This is because both HIPPA and the Privacy Act provide a general guideline, but they do not address specifically how they would apply under a variety of situations. Instead, they discuss certain provisions that are relevant at the time that the law was written. This is problematic, because as globalization and technology are having a profound impact upon the world of health care, means that these laws will become obsolete. This is because, technology can change the way that information is stored and retrieved. As time goes by, a new form of technology or new type of entity could emerge that may not be covered. Once this take place, it means that they would be able to circumvent these regulations. The biggest challenge going forward is how flexibility can be applied to the law.

Summary of Significant Learning

Clearly, both the Privacy Act and HIPPA; provides a broad amount of protection for the privacy of various medical records. This is important, because they both establish a basic foundation and the fundamental principal; that the patient has a right to have their personal records protected at all times. Yet, when you look closer at these laws, it is clear that there are obvious weaknesses with both. As far as the Privacy Act is concerned, it only applies to the way the federal government will handle various pieces of personal information. It has nothing to do with the how privacy information is stored or released, by private organization and those entities beyond the scope of the federal government. To address this issue, Congress passed HIPPA as way to improve transparency and various protections. The problem with the different HIPPA regulations is:… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Patient Privacy and Security of Information" Assignment:

“

1) Select from the list below and evaluate one of the KM applications you consider important to the success of

health care reform. Your evaluation should include strengths, weaknesses, and major implementation

challenges related to the application. The application may represent--and hence call for

you to consider--multiple health care stakeholders; that is, medical providers, insurance providers, government

agencies, customers. The KM applications that has been chosen for you is:

* Patient privacy and security of information

2) Integrate an understanding of how you think organizational culture relates to the success (or challenge) of

the application.

3) Defend the importance of your application with evidence of solid research and critical thinking, citing data,

information and supporting examples.

4) Cite at least six research sources beyond the course materials. As

usual, successful papers will rely heavily on academic and other authoritative sources.

5) Summarize significant learning from the research and evaluation. Focus on three key points and why you

think they are significant to a better understanding of KM*****'s role in health care reform.

6) Include the following sections in your paper, delineating required sections with headings and subheadings:

* Introduction

* KM Application

- Description

- Strengths

- Weaknesses

- Major challenges to success

* Summary of Significant Learning

* Conclusion

* Reference List

How to Reference "Patient Privacy and Security of Information" Research Paper in a Bibliography

“Patient Privacy and Security of Information.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2010, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/patient-privacy-security-information/5680. Accessed 5 Oct 2024.

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A1-TermPaper.com. (2010). Patient Privacy and Security of Information. [online] Available at: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/patient-privacy-security-information/5680 [Accessed 5 Oct, 2024].

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[1] ”Patient Privacy and Security of Information”, A1-TermPaper.com, 2010. [Online]. Available: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/patient-privacy-security-information/5680. [Accessed: 5-Oct-2024].

1. Patient Privacy and Security of Information [Internet]. A1-TermPaper.com. 2010 [cited 5 October 2024]. Available from: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/patient-privacy-security-information/5680

1. Patient Privacy and Security of Information. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/patient-privacy-security-information/5680. Published 2010. Accessed October 5, 2024.

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