Introduction
Healthcare, like many other industries, is governed by state and federal legislation as well as industry standards. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is the most effective form of legislation altering healthcare (HIPAA). Healthcare providers are taught the importance of HIPPA laws regularly. However, with the current overwhelming influence of social media and electronics on the healthcare industry, there is still considerable misunderstanding about what constitutes the destruction of patient privacy. This report aims to explain appropriate social media use and update HIPAA in health care to interprofessional employees.
Main body
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) defines protected health information (PHI) as personal data. HIPAA is also recognized and related to a person’s health condition before admission to the hospital, foreseen health state, or during one’s time in the health center. The data is compiled, shared with others, and stored by a HIPAA-covered entity. Furthermore, the data is either used to settle debts for healthcare services rendered or for general healthcare operations (Moore & Frye, 2019). Under PHI, treatment and prescription information, diagnoses, and test results are considered sensitive information. These types of patient data are extremely private and should be treated with extreme caution to protect the patient’s privacy.
As a result, HIPAA introduced privacy provisions intended to protect sensitive information about a patient’s health state. The regulations apply to healthcare providers, the businesses they work for, and anyone who has access to a patient’s information (Martin et al., 2018). To clarify, confidentiality in healthcare refers to the practitioner’s responsibility to keep patient information confidential and secure. The concept is different from privacy, which is defined as the patient’s fundamental right to consent to the transmission or use of personal health data by third parties. Furthermore, the patient has the right to demand that false information be corrected and access information under privacy rules (Chen & Benusa, 2017). However, there are times when the data is used without the patient’s knowledge, including delivering patient treatment, running the business, and preparing medical invoices (Moore & Frye, 2019). Security, on the other hand, is merely the direct protection of patient data. It also covers how to protect the privacy and confidentiality of patients’ data.
With the rapid advancement and growth of technology, changes to the Security Regulations and HIPAA Privacy have been made, making breaches of confidentiality subject to harsh penalties (Eastern Illinois University, 2021). In addition, interdisciplinary teamwork makes it easier to safeguard patient information security and privacy. Interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial because it allows individuals to have the necessary information without accidentally exposing confidential information. This information is communicated through training programs covering a variety of professions to gain a better understanding of how each field works. Furthermore, it enhances the way individuals from various fields collaborate. Due to synchronization, other disciplines can now realize the importance of keeping patient information private, even on social media. Privacy and confidentiality can be violated on social media, putting both the person who exposed the knowledge and the patient in danger of severe penalties. Through training, individuals could be taught not to do and what to do concerning patients on social media. Furthermore, health care professionals might be trained on how to act around patients.
Summary
To summarize, protected health data is information concerning a patient’s health state protected under HIPAA’s privacy provisions. To secure this type of info, health professionals must first comprehend the meaning of the term’s privacy, security, and confidentiality and follow the rules. In order to protect sensitive data, businesses must engage in interdisciplinary collaboration, which ensures that everyone understands how information should be handled across disciplines.
References
Chen, J. Q., & Benusa, A. (2017). HIPAA security compliance challenges: The case for small healthcare providers. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 10(2), 135-146. Web.
Eastern Illinois University. (2021). How nurses can avoid HIPAA violations on social media. Eastern Illinois University Online. Web.
Martin, E., Lober, C., Benabio, J., & Feldman, S. R. (2018). Addressing public criticism: A potential HIPAA violation. Dermatology Online Journal, 24(6), 1-3. Web.
Moore, W., & Frye, S. (2019). Review of HIPAA, Part 1: History, protected health information, and privacy and security rules. Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology, 47(4), 269-272. Web.