Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Paper

Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Paper

Releasing Protected Health Information HCR 210 Axia College July 11, 2010 The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act of 1996 or HIPAA, was put in place as an attempt to reform health care during the Clinton administration by making it possible for workers, of any profession, to change jobs regardless if the worker, or any member of their family, have a pre-existing medical condition, decreasing paperwork which is associated with the processing of health claims, and by reducing health care abuse and fraud, and by assuring the privacy and security of health information.

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HIPAA’s standards for privacy of individually identifiable health information or privacy rule includes restrictions which protect the confidentiality and security of health information, and determines a criterion to protect the confidentiality of individually identifiable health information that is maintained or transmitted through electronic means in association with certain administrative and financial transactions such as electronic transfer of health insurance claims. Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Paper

The covered entity, in most cases, is required to obtain an individual’s authorization prior to disclosing any health information. And in most circumstances the patient or a legal representative of the patient controls the disclosure of PHI to any third party. However ,there are many situations in which agencies or covered entities have the right or legal obligation to access or obtain PHI. Some examples of instances where a government agency may disclose this private health information are (not limited to). : For public health purposes such as investigations, surveillance, and interventions, PHI may be disclosed to public health authorities and their authorized agents * PHI may be disclosed to report abuse, neglect, or domestic violence. * Covered entities may, under specified conditions pursuant to a court order, subpoena, or other legal order disclose PHI to law enforcement officials to help identify and locate a suspect, fugitive, or missing person, to provide information related to a victim of a crime or a death that may have resulted from a crime, or to report a crime.

In some instances HIPAA does not require the covered entity to obtain consent, authorization, or to provide the opportunity for the patient to agree or object to the disclosure examples of such are: * Public health activities * Law enforcement purposes * Judicial and administrative proceedings * Identification and location purposes * Research purposes * Decedents * Food & drug administration (FDA) * Specialized government functions (military and veterans activities) * Workers’ compensation * Health oversight activities. Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Paper

Victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence’s may have their PHI disclosed to a governmental authority that is authorized to receive such reports unless the agency believes that giving such a notification would place the victim at risk of serious harm or that doing so would not be in the victims best interest, and the victim must be informed that such a report has been or will be made. A covered entity may also release PHI to a legal agency when reporting certain types of injuries and/or wounds such as gunshot wounds, dog bites, motor vehicle accidents etc.

When any law enforcement official requests PHI to assist in identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person; only the following can be disclosed, however, the covered entity may not disclose any PHI which relates to DNA or DNA analysis, dental records, or typing, samples, or analysis of bodily fluids or tissues (Inmates of any correctional institution however have none of the above rights and correctional institutions may use PHI for any purpose. : * Name and address * Date and place of birth * Social security number * Distinguishing physical characteristics, including weight, gender, race, hair and eye color, presence or absence of facial hair, scars and tattoos. * Type of injury * Date and time of treatment * Date and time of death * ABO blood type and Rh factor. Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Paper

Medical professionals, who are involved in clinical or epidemiological research are often allowed to gain access to patient records, minus any individually identifiable information by health care providers A covered entity may disclose o PHI without authorization from the individual, for activities and purposes related to research which has been approved by a privacy board or an Institutional Review Board (IRB). However, an authorization for the use and disclosure of PHI is required if and/or when such research includes actual treatment of the individual.

These and other agencies can disclose PHI through de-identification. De-identification is PHI which contains no identifying information about an individual and so, this information can be disclosed so long as nothing can individually identify the patient. The following are examples of some things that will be removed from the record for the purpose of De-Identification : * Names * Addresses or other geographic identifiers such as zip codes * Relatives * household members * All dates (except years) related to an individual * Employers All numbers such as; Telephone SSN Medical records Account numbers Beneficiary numbers Certificate/license numbers License plate numbers VIN numbers for vehicle(s) serial numbers and/or device identifiers (implants pace maker etc) URLs IP address Biometric identifiers Photographic images and any other unique identifying number, characteristic, or code. It seems that the principles that permit disclosure are much the same with how police may obtain evidence. It seems that something’s have been deemed “public” and others private.

Anything outside the body such as piercing, tattoos, or facial hair does not have an expectation of privacy, however those which are inside such as pacemakers, organs, blood type etc do hold an expectation of privacy. I feel for the most part that privacy safeguards are adequate and upheld to the best of the abilities of those involved. I do however feel that no matter how hard we try and how many laws we put into place there will always be “bad apples” out there, I mean without them these laws would not really be even needed. Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Paper

References : Green, M. A. , & Bowie, M. J. (2005). Essentials of health information management: Principles and practices. Clifton Park, NJ: Thomson U. S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2010). Health Information Privacy. Retrieved July 11, 2010 from http://www. hhs. gov/ocr/privacy/ CDC. (2003). HIPAA Privacy Rule and Public Health. Retrieved July 11, 2010 from  http://www. cdc. gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/m2e411a1. htm

Health information exchange (HIE) facilitate electronic transmission of healthcare related data among healthcare stakeholders and permit access to clinical information at the point of care. HIEs enhances completeness of patient’s records and timely sharing of vital patient information pertinent in informed decision making at the point of care through mobilization of healthcare information electronically across organizations. Electronic exchange of data assures standardization of data that integrate into a recipient’s electronic health record (EHR). HIE can also be defined as an organization responsible for facilitating the exchange of healthcare data to promote appropriate and secure access and retrieval of personal health information patient care being the primary beneficiary.
A top primary concern for stakeholders in reference to electronic health records (EHRs) in HIE systems is health care data security during the transfer process of sensitive information. Increased use of HIE has led to interoperability concerns and vulnerability to abuse of health care data. Securing and regulating medical data properly across competing health care entities is analyzed through a discussion of several federal and state rules and regulations that have an impact on the privacy, confidentiality, and security of HIE.
Failure and inconsistency of federal and state laws to establish a unique patient identifier number has been a legal barrier to HIE progress as it does not allow matching of patient records resulting in slow progress of HIE systems. On the other hand, development of data segmentation for privacy (DS4P) permits sensitive data to be segmented within a patient’s record. This has provided considerable relief to providers, especially those who purchased EHRs with DS4P capability that reduced risk of inappropriately disclosing private information and challenges of navigating different state law requirements. The major concern with the DS4P option is that it’s an optional feature and providers when forced to pay extra for the capability might opt out of it. A discussion of several select state and federal laws that have been instrumental in developing correct policies and procedures for ensuring safe transmission and use of healthcare data sharing across entities through the use of HIEs are analyzed in this paper. Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Paper
The Privacy Act of 1974, a withholding statute created specifically to protect patient confidentiality in federally operated healthcare facilities was created in response to concerns about how the creation and use of computerized databases impact individuals’ privacy rights. The act authorizes federal agencies to release individually identifiable information to identified persons or to their designees with written consent or due to certain exemptions. Although government agencies can exempt themselves from the Act’s rules and agencies can circumvent information sharing rules, penalties for violations of the act include both civil and criminal penalties.
The freedom of information act (FOIA) enacted in 2006 is a disclosure statute. It covers records that are either created or obtained by an agency, and under agency control at the time of FOIA request and provides the American public with the right to obtain information from federal agencies with certain exceptions (addressed by the Privacy Act of 1974) concerning patient information.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule (1996) came about after legislation from congress required digitization of medical bills which led to the creation of privacy and security requirements. It is comprehensive federal regulation offering specific protection to private health information through mainly two rules, namely the privacy rule (2003) and the security rule (2005). The security rule applies solely to electronic health information while the privacy rule requires written patient authorization for release of identifiable PHI by covered entities with certain existing exceptions. Despite misconceptions among providers HIPAA presents no obstacles to electronically shared protected health information for treatment purposes and does not hold providers who properly disclose information liable for privacy breaches by recipients. The act allows states to maintain privacy laws that are stricter and that create a barrier to HIE to identify all applicable laws and the segments of a patient’s record which they apply, inhibiting HIE progress by increasing HIE engagement costs. HIPAA has been shown not to be a hindrance to interoperability and health data sharing, as it protects PHI and allows data to be accessed, used, or disclosed interoperably; permits certain uses and disclosures of information for patient treatment and healthcare operations (Health and Human Services(HHS), 2015). Despite permitting certain uses and disclosures of information for patient treatment and healthcare operations, some providers, still do not share PHI and do not participate on HIEs.Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Paper
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act enacted in 2009 expands the privacy rule to include creation of new privacy requirements for HIPAA covered entities and business associates (Pg. 292). The act strengthens the rights of individuals to request and obtain their PHI; expands the federal protections for personal health information (PHI) privacy and security under HIPAA; extends business associate status to HIEs; and allows most states to enact legislation to provide additional incentives on legal and privacy frameworks for HIE by offering more grants. The act expects due diligence from healthcare organizations and third-party payers while protecting organizations in the event that a violation occurs, strengthens accountability of nonprovider organizations involved in exchanges while preserving existing privacy rule exception permitting HIE for treatment, and etc.
Other federal laws that affect HIE include the 21st Century Cures Act (2006) includes a number of provisions that push for greater interoperability and adoption of EHRs. The act has led to improvements in healthcare IT in relation to nationwide interoperability and information blocking, and created legal architecture to begin to combat information blocking. Information blocking arose mainly because of competitive disincentives to participate in HIE. Family educational rights and privacy act enacted in 1974 covers educational records maintained by an institution that relate directly to a student and limits disclosure of educational records by institutions receiving federal funding and protects the confidentiality of student records. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act enacted in 1999 covers personal non-public information in an institution engaged in financial activities. The food, drug, and cosmetic act. (FDCA) assures the safety of food and drug products and covers confidential information that may identify human subjects.

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Many barriers to HIE participation can be traced to laws or stakeholders’ understanding of laws, as their main concern is on complying with state and federal privacy laws regarding patient consent for information disclosure. Increasing financial incentives to boost provider participation rather than the reduction of legal barriers would be the best solution to lower the cost of HIE with the expectation that privacy professionals will be familiar with all expectations and regulations on sensitive data to ensure the same privacy and security compliance with interoperability exchanged data. Covered entities should know where PHI is stored and to where it may be transferred, ensure they regularly update all data security measures, conduct appropriate employee training, and work to keep all connected devices secure to avoid data breaches.
There is a need to remedy cybersecurity concerns that have led to malware attacks on healthcare operating systems and reduced interest in HIE. A strong business case for HIE participation is needed to overturn the perceived notion that costs and risks of joining HIE outweigh its perceived benefits. Utilization of multi-factor authentication, data encryption methods, and proper employee training among other tools should be employed so as to improve health data privacy and security through HIE system. Not overlooking data security measures through having built-in security measures and regular updates is important for covered entities as interoperability is a critical factor in healthcare. Use of block chain technology for all parties involved should be encouraged so data can be organized in a way that transactions can be verified and recorded through consensus of all parties involved. Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Paper