NURS 3110 Week 1 Assignment – HIPAA – An Issue of Patient Privacy

NURS 3110 Week 1 Assignment – HIPAA – An Issue of Patient Privacy

Technologies have brought us a lot of changes and comfort in our lives. In particular, today’s technologies have become an integral part of patient care. However, the increasing use of EHR and mobile devices has become a threat to the privacy and confidentiality of patients. “Emerging trends in healthcare delivery bring benefits as well as new threats to privacy and private health information” (Hebda & Czar, 2013, p. 23). The purpose of this assignment is to identify how technologies can breach patient privacy and to discuss hospital and personal strategies to protect patient privacy and confidentiality.

Strategies to Safeguard Information

In the assigned scenario, I found two different cases which broke the HIPAA law. First, Jennifer, a registered nurse, realized that a co-worker, Tim, broke the privacy boundaries of his patients. Tim posted pictures of his patients to Facebook without their permission or consent sign, even though the pictures included their personal information. Second, Jennifer also realized that the personal information of patients had been shared among nurses, techs, and physicians through their personal cell phones and Google Calendar, which were not approved by the Compliance Officer or Information Technology. The first strategy to protect patient privacy when using a mobile device in the current hospital is to allow each nurse to log in only with the ID and password provided by the hospital. Our hospital uses mobile devices called personal communications devices (PCD) and personal digital assistants (PDAs) that are given to each nurse at the start of the shift. To use the PCDs and PDAs, we must log in with the username and password ID which are given by the hospital. Also, we are allowed to log in to PDAs after passing through 5 security steps. In addition, each PDA has a tracking system that keeps track of the activities each user has done through a mobile device. As a second strategy, my hospital uses employee ID badges to log in and out of mobile devices and computers. The employee ID badge which is assigned to each healthcare provider, has a chip and barcode to allow him/her to log in and out of computers, PDAs, phones, and access to doors. Using these safeguard systems to log in and out of mobile devices and computers would help to protect the privacy of patients.

NURS 3110 Week 1 Assignment – HIPAA – An Issue of Patient Privacy

Mobile Devices and Communication Issues

My current hospital does not allow nurses to use personal mobile devices but an assigned mobile device which is called PCD. PCD is given to each nurse at the beginning of the shift, and each nurse needs to hand it off to a specific person at the end of the shift. It is not able to send text messages, access to the internet, or take pictures, and is designed solely to make and receive calls. My hospital does not allow to use of personal laptop computers or tablets for charting. Nurses can only do EHR documentation on stationary computers which are secured by the hospital. Also, a text message can only be sent to a doctor via a special text system icon on a stationary computer. When a text message is sent to a doctor’s pager, the doctor calls a nurse’s PCD mobile device. This system protects patient privacy by preventing nurses or doctors from exposing patients’ information.

Nursing Strategies to Protect Health Information

Protecting patient privacy at any time and in any situation is very important, especially when using mobile devices. The personal strategies I am using to protect patient privacy and their health information are to log off assigned mobile devices or computers after documentation or use of EHR, keep my assigned mobile device safely and carry it all the time at work, and not share my assigned mobile device with others, and not use my personal cell phone at work. These are small efforts, but I think these efforts are the first step in protecting patient privacy.

NURS 3110 Week 1 Assignment – HIPAA – An Issue of Patient Privacy

Conclusion

“Mobile health may transform health care and health promotion” (Wang and Huang, 2013). However, healthcare providers must be fully aware of the breach risk of patient privacy and confidentiality and comply with HIPAA rules (McDavid, 2013. pp, 53). In particular, as a nurse, we must always protect the privacy of patients and keep them safe. By doing so, we can build trust with patients, which will help for a better quality of care. In addition, we should always consider patient privacy first and be careful when using mobile devices and EHR programs.

References

Hebda, T. and Czar, P. “The Electronic Health Record.” Handbook of Informatics for Nurses & Healthcare Professionals, 5th ed., Pearson, 2013, pp. 276–292

McDavid, J. P., Esq. (2013). HIPAA risk is contagious: Practical tips to prevent a breach. The Journal of Medical Practice Management: MPM, 29(1), 53-5. Retrieved from https://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login? url=https://search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1437303156?accountid=14872

Wang CJ, Huang DJ. The HIPAA Conundrum in the Era of Mobile Health and Communications. JAMA.2013;310(11):1121–1122. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.219869

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NURS 3110 Week 1 Assignment -Protecting Patient Health Information and the Use of Mobile Devices In the Workplace

For this HIPAA: An Issue of policy privacy Essay Assignment, review the following from this week’s resources:

Resources of HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules.

Resources on privacy and security and the use of mobile devices in patient care.

Privacy and Confidentiality Scenario