Protected Health Information (PHI): Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality Best Practices - Essay Sample

Introduction

Protected health information (PHI) is sometimes denoted as personal health information. The term basically refers to health data, including demographic data, insurance coverage, laboratory test results, and medical histories. This data is collected by healthcare professionals and is used to identify a patient as well as determine appropriate care. Under the HIPAA guidelines and provisions, covered entities are expected to safeguard PHI and promote integrity, confidentiality, ensure protection and availability of personal healthcare information (Edemekong et al., 2020).

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Essential HIPAA Information

The HIPAA has clearly defined the scope of PHI for both covered entities (e.g. insurers, healthcare providers, and their business associates) and patients. On the one hand, HIPAA restricts the types of PHI to be collected from patients, sharing of PHI with other entities, and the use of PHI in marketing procedures. In so doing, institutions have adopted measures to safeguard private and sensitive information belonging to patients. On the other hand, healthcare institutions are expected to provide PHI to patients whenever requested – should preferably be provided in electronic PHI format (Edemekong et al., 2020). The HIPAA also provides workers with reliable health covers and reduced healthcare costs – this has been achieved through considerate standardization. HIPAA's encouragement to adopt electronic health records has helped improve efficiency in healthcare settings – administrative duties, including information security and protection, has been enhanced. The HIPAA is vital for patients because the privacy of their health information, the security of health data, notification of breaches of medical records, and the right to obtain copies of healthcare data has been emphasized (Edemekong et al., 2020).

Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality in Healthcare Settings

Privacy: "refers to people's right to control access to their personal information. Patients have the power to decide what data to share, with whom, and how" (Kumar et al., 2016). The HIPAA Privacy Rule exclusively protects the privacy of personal health information that can be identified to a specific patient.

Security: "refers to the protection measures and tools that safeguard health information and health information systems from any unauthorized access to or modification of information, denial of service to authorized users, and provision of service to unauthorized users" (Kumar et al., 2016).

Confidentiality: combines both privacy and security concepts. It is therefore defined as a tool to protect privacy or an act limiting disclosure of private matters. Confidentiality ensures that PHI is used for the intended purpose only, and the patient's consent is mandatory before the disclosure (Kumar et al., 2016).

The purpose of privacy, security, and confidentiality is to prevent disclosure of PHI through a protocol-based approach. Provisions of the HIPAA state that PHI can only be disclosed under the patient's consent. It is vital to ensure that the patient signs the consent form after reading and understanding the content enlisted (Price et al., 2018). Patient data can only be disclosed or shared with other entities guided by HIPAA's standards. Conditions which allow disclosure of PHI include health oversight activities, compensation processes, and when instructed by the court of law (Price et al., 2018).

The interdisciplinary team must collaborate to safeguard electronic personal health information (e-PHI). To achieve that, members should only provide "need-to-know" information and should be done in private where uninvolved parties cannot hear. Members should remember to log off of the electronic health record (EHR) systems and avoid sharing their access names and passwords.

Inappropriate Social Media Usage

Members need to be extra careful with mixing work and social media. The internet is an open platform, and the information shared can be misused or misunderstood. The best way to avoid sharing sensitive information is to avoid talking about work on social media – whether good or bad. According to Balestra (2018), unprofessional behavior is denoted by "posts that could be considered unprofessional or reflect unethical conduct – anything defined as unbecoming of the nursing profession. For example, negative comments about your workplace, complaints about coworkers and employers, or threatening or harassing comments fall into this category." Evidence has shown how members have suffered dire consequences from sharing private information.

In the US, several nurses have been terminated for inappropriate social media usage. In 2016, a nurse at Glendale Adventist Medical Center was terminated for conducting unauthorized access to PHI of 88 patients (Landa, 2016). Besides termination, the nurse incurred a fine for violating the HIPAA Act. In another story, a nurse faced charges for posting a video of one of the nurses in labor and mocked her online. Also, a nurse was terminated after revealing a picture of a patient getting an electrocardiogram on social media.

Further, a group of interdisciplinary members were fired for the unauthorized search of a celebrity's medical history (Price et al., 2018). They did so without official authorization or medical reason. A search of celebrity names in the EHR systems is inappropriate, and it can result in termination of the employee involved in the breach. Patient privacy is essential in healthcare settings, and so any breach could result in termination, and in some cases, huge fines are imposed. Sharing of irrelevant information in social media needs to stop as it undermines patient integrity and privacy.

Sanctions and Financial Penalties for Inappropriate Social Media Usage

The HIPAA has outlined the possible penalties and fines accruing from PHI violations, as stated in their standards. The severity of the fines imposed varies with the level of negligence exhibited during that particular period. On average, a fine of $100-$50,000 can be imposed for violating HIPAA provisions (Cannon et al., 2016). In some cases, a violation would amount to a fine of up to $1.5million if the severity of negligence is beyond contemplation (Cannon et al., 2016).

Evidence-Based Strategies to Prevent Security Breaches

The HIPAA demands organizations to incorporate the "privacy officer" position in the administration board (Kumar et al., 2016). The privacy officer will be in charge of overseeing the privacy, security, and confidentiality of PHI procedures as per HIPAA provisions. Also, the privacy officer will be tasked with ensuring that HIPAA standards are adhered/implemented. Staff members are expected to undergo training on ensuring the confidentiality and privacy of patient health information (Kumar et al., 2016). As such, entities will effectively mitigate PHI breaches.

References

Balestra, Melanie L, NP, ESQ. (2018). Social media missteps could put your nursing license at risk. Alabama Nurse, 45(3), 18. Retrieved from http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F2131795045%3Faccountid%3D27965

Cannon, A. A., & Caldwell, H. (2016). HIPAA violations among nursing students: teachable moment or terminal mistake—a case study. J Nurs Educ Pract, 6(12), 41-48. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hollie_Caldwell/publication/305479324_HIPAA_violations_among_nursing_students_Teachable_moment_or_terminal_mistake-A_case_study/links/579787a108aec89db7b9a86b.pdf

Edemekong, P., Annamaraju, P., & Haydel, M. (2020). Health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA). StatPearls. Retrieved from https://www.statpearls.com/sp/al/401/22897/

Kumar, M., & Wambugu, S. (2016). A Primer on the Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality of Electronic Health Records A Primer on the Privacy, Security, and of Electronic Health Records.

Landa, J. (2016). Nurse fired after 528 patients' records breached at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. (2016, December 02). Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/tn-gnp-me-privacy-breach-20161202-story.html

Price, A. M., Devis, K., LeMoine, G., Crouch, S., South, N., & Hossain, R. (2018). First-year nursing students’ use of social media within education: Results of a survey. Nurse education today, 61, 70-76. Retrieved from http://create.canterbury.ac.uk/16469/1/16469_Social%20media%20in%20teaching%20article%20revision%20FINAL%20%281%29.pdf

Ventola, C. L. (2014). Social media and health care professionals: benefits, risks, and best practices. Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 39(7), 491. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103576/