HRM FPX 5401 Assessment 3

Introduction

This briefing will discuss research concerning best practices in preventing Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) violations. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) protects the confidentiality of an individual’s medical record, bans discrimination on the grounds of health status in group health plans, and allows special enrollment periods for group health plans. Vila Health has experienced many HIPAA violations, and the HR director requested better procedures for compliance. The HR specialist wants to accomplish this by being compliant with HIPAA while ensuring the mission of the organization is aligned with legal compliance and ethical practices.

HIPAA Impacts on the Regulatory Environment and Healthcare Industry

The healthcare industry is service-based and needs regulation to implement government mandates. There must be a strong regulatory framework to control compliance with contractual obligations and legal norms for safeguarding public interest. Norms cannot be avoided for safeguarding health professionals and proper servicing of public health welfare through health programs. HIPAA plays a central role in regulating and standardizing the health care industry to ensure compliance with public health laws and provide safe treatment to every customer and guest of the health care system.

HIPAA violations are still possible within well-funded health care organizations but, with awareness of frequent errors, can improve compliance with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Recent cases have quoted egregious errors on the part of the organizations. As an example, lawyer Melissa Soliz wrote in a journal post that the OCR fined a health system $2.15 million for misplacing paper records for more than 1,400 patients, posting a photo of a patient’s health information in an operating room on social media by a reporter, and having a staff member who accessed and sold patient records improperly since 2011.

HRM FPX 5401 Assessment 3 Legal and Ethical Considerations in Healthcare Privacy: Brief 

The mistakes can be prevented by conducting routine audits of the security habits of the organization. Warning employees not to extract any health information outside of the healthcare center unless necessary and as per guided policies and procedures should be a top priority. Despite the best policy, errors can still result in HIPAA violations. Implementation of data management and restricted access can mitigate some of the human mistakes that cause HIPAA breaches. Blocking access to and storage of health information on individual devices, like laptops, cellphones, or tablets not approved for organizational use, is an effective measure. The second critical step is to conduct employee training for the prevention of cyberattacks, including phishing emails that may prove to be a potential threat to the organization’s protected health information. Employees who have limited or no access to protected health information (PHI) cannot disclose it in error.

Legal and Ethical Basis for Patient Privacy

Among the primary objectives of the Privacy Rule is striking a balance between ensuring the privacy of individuals’ health information and permitting information exchange for providing and facilitating high-quality care and upholding public welfare and health. Those who are healthcare providers all bear an ethical, as well as legal, mandate to be confidentiality-bound by the patient. Providing great care hinges on its requirement. Confidentiality means limiting personal information to unauthorized parties, and confidentiality and private communication are the entitlements of all patients that ought not to be revealed without permission. Medical practitioners have a lawful responsibility to deal with all patient information in a secure and private manner. Improper release of sensitive information threatens patient safety.

Keeping confidentiality not only shows ethical practice but also establishes trust between healthcare professionals and patients. The Data Protection Act of 1998 came into force, laying down principles and guidelines for patient privacy to uphold its integrity. The intention was to secure individual data and develop standards to administer it. Accordingly, patient data confidentiality is complying with legal responsibilities imposed on health care organizations and is one fundamental moral requirement backing ethical health care delivery.

HIPAA Compliance Impacts the Delivery of Quality Healthcare

As already stated, HIPAA regulations target the limited use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI) to avert unauthorized access. HIPAA guarantees that patients are given some protection for their medical information so that they can feel safe when they provide personal information.

This kind of safety is vital in establishing trust such that patients can actively participate in their own care. When patients are sure that their most private information is kept confidential, they are likely to come forth with pertinent information so that health professionals can provide correct diagnoses and implement useful treatment regimens. Patients are likely to listen to the instructions of health professionals and maintain healthier lifestyles when they participate actively in their healthcare. This leads to better patient outcomes. The evidence has shown that such patients who lack trust in terms of protection of privacy are much less likely to comply fully in diagnosis and medical treatment of their conditions (Ste23, 2023). While ensuring and sustaining HIPAA compliance may be daunting and in a state of constant demand, the experience has, in the long run, been effective in enhancing patient-organizational, organizational-care provider, organizational-clinical workplace, and organizational-management practices relationships, as well as organizational and caregiver job satisfaction.

Electronic Storing and Access of Medical Records

Electronic medical records (EMRs) offer a useful way of providing improved patient care while offering convenience to healthcare professionals in treatment and medical planning.

EMR technology offers healthcare professionals access to information in forms previously unavailable when using paper charts.

Primary care physicians are now able to display and print graphs of important health parameters, including weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure, to monitor over time (Don15, 2015). Availability of EMRs gives healthcare providers the best means of accessing information and resources regarding screening, prevention, and management. Structured data in EMRs allow for the return of point-of-care information for practice-informative use as well as facilitating research. There is a need to keep patient records to facilitate continuity of care by clinicians regardless of the location of care (e.g., inpatient, outpatient, emergency) (Geo20, 2020).

Keeping current medical records provides an accurate history of a patient’s treatment plan, which is especially important in the case of long-term care and ensuring quality outcomes. Retained records also come in handy for medical malpractice litigation, complaints to licensing boards, and medical billing audits. Legal mandates dictate that patient histories are to be maintained for a specified amount of time by law depending on each state. Unless kept in medical records, states Pozgar, lawsuits can result, which was demonstrated in the case Rodgers v. St. Mary’s Hospital of Decatur. In the absence of state regulation, health practitioners must maintain health information for at least as long as under the state statute of limitations or for a reasonable period to satisfy relevant laws and regulations (Geo20, 2020).

HIPAA Compliance in Alignment with the Organization Standards

HIPAA compliance may be daunting and overwhelming, given the possibility of up to $250,000 in fines for noncompliance. Vila Health has experienced numerous HIPAA violations and now has a process in place to enhance processes and align compliance with ethical standards and the organization’s mission.

To make this feasible, Vila Health will employ a HIPAA compliance champion who will be responsible for supervising security standards and managing employees who handle patient-protected health information (PHI). The champion will head a team of trained staff who will ensure healthcare adheres to compliance. The team will give employees quarterly training on the correct handling of PHI.

HRM FPX 5401 Assessment 3 Legal and Ethical Considerations in Healthcare Privacy: Brief 

Additionally, the company will also exercise severe security to keep medical records confidential, i.e., encryption practices, stringent firewalls, and secure warehousing facilities. Risk audits will run continuously in order to establish risks in time and eliminate them before a grave violation takes place.

Training of employees and awareness of HIPAA rules, privacy rules, and security measures are required. Employees should be educated about their responsibilities and roles in protecting patient privacy and organizational expectations. In addition, all staff will be told who to go to with HIPAA-related questions, whom to report suspected misuse or disclosure of health information to, and where the organization’s HIPAA policies and procedures can be accessed.

HRM FPX 5401 Assessment 3 Legal and Ethical Considerations in Healthcare Privacy: Brief 

SHRM. (n.d.). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org

Tegegne, M. M. (2022, March 14). Health professionals’ knowledge and attitude towards patient confidentiality and associated factors in a resource-limited setting: a cross-sectional study. Retrieved from https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-022-00765-0#citeas

HRM FPX 5401 Assessment 3 Legal and Ethical Considerations in Healthcare Privacy: Brief 

Thomas, D. L. (2021, December 7). What is the Role of Regulatory Bodies in Healthcare? Retrieved from https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-the-Role-of-Regulatory-Bodies-in-Healthcare.aspx#:~:text=A%20regulatory%20system%20helps%20keep,requirements%2C%20protecting%20the%20public%20interest. 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/laws-regulations/index.html