Fair Information Practice
I have used the Bozeman Health and Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System (SCL) medical organizations for the current analysis. To collect information about the hospitals’ policy related to the release of medical records, I used the two websites which are cited in the references. Both companies apply fair information practice principles when developing the policy of requesting a release of medical records.
Bozeman Health
The first organization to analyze is Bozeman Health corporation which provides the necessary information on the website. If the patients request a release of their medical records, they can use the particular services called MyChart, which they have to log in using a password (Medical Records, n. d.). The website provides detailed information on how to log in to a private account. Besides this type of medical records release, the organization offers two additional methods: “request via e-mail and filling the Protected Health Information form,” which can be sent to the hospital administration through fax (Medical Records, n. d.). The company also provides information about the period of the requests’ completeness which is within five working days (Medical Records, n. d.). Therefore, the patients can get the necessary data only through authorization or proof of identity procedures. Generally, Bozeman Health’s policy in the field of fair information complies with the main principles mentioned in chapter 26 (Nelson & Staggers, 2016). The organization provides transparency by stating that the personal data is used in medication aims and is ready to complete the requests to release it at any time.
The principle of security is presented through the two-step authorization in the personal account and the personal visit and signature (in case the request is sent by fax). Moreover, through the website, Bozeman Health ensures individual participation in the process of using identifiable personality information. All the data collected can be seen in the personal account. Considering the recommendation to improve the information collection and release fairness, providing the periods for which the information is used in the individual accounts would be relevant. By doing so, the administration will meet the use limitation and quality and integrity of the collected data principles requirements.
SCL Health
Compared to Bozeman Health, SLC Health provides more detailed instructions on how to request medical records correctly. The organization also provides the usage of online accounts. Besides this method, the website offers three other variants: fax, mail, or personal visit (Request Medical Records, n. d.). The positive feature of this website is the detailed information about the implications of the particular document, such as radiology images (Request Medical Records, n. d.). Moreover, by requesting the data, the patients can check the fees which can be charged (Request Medical Records, n. d.). The organization also has a mobile app authorized through the phone number, which ensures information protection.
This organization’s policy complies with many fair information practice principles. It ensures data minimization, transparency, individual participation, and security through the mobile application and the MyChart technology (Request Medical Records, n. d.). Through the detailing of which information is used for which purposes and how it can be requested, the company meets the purpose specification principle. The only recommendation that can be provided is to add information about the employees’ training to comply with the organizational policy.
Comparison
According to the analysis, SLC Health has a more detailed and structured medical records policy than Bozeman Health. The first organization complies with almost all the fair information principles, while the second one only has three. The detailed website and mobile application used by SLC Health is the rational decision to develop individual participation, which makes the organization superior to Bozeman Health. In case when the resources are constrained, a significant problem of request satisfaction may appear in both organizations. Moreover, the distortion in the website in the SLC case, and mobile application work can cause the leak of personal information.
References
Medical records. (n.d.). Bozeman Health. Web.
Nelson, R., & Staggers, N. (2016). Healthcare informatics: An interprofessional approach. Elsevier.
Request medical records. (n.d.). SCL Health. Web.