Video: Protecting Protected Health Information

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The eEHR Privacy Debate Continues

[By Staff Reporters]

According to our colleague Richard Mata; MD, MIS, writing in the premium print-journal Healthcare Organizations [Financial Management Strategies], a critical feature of any healthcare information system [HIS] is compliance with privacy requirements. Of course, the most important compliance regulation is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

The key here is to have computer systems, terminals, workstations, servers and hand-held systems fully in communication with each other — including the ability to send data outside the fire-walls of the institution; interoperability as needed — while ensuring the confidentiality of protected health information (PHI), which is health information where the person to whom it belongs is identifiable

Federal Privacy Regulations

The federal government required hospital and healthcare entity compliance with HIPAA security regulations since April 2005. Briefly, the following are features of HIPAA which concern HIS:

·         HIPAA presents a unique opportunity for automation of information since it is easier to protect secure information electronically as compared to having a paper chart that can be lost or open in front of patients and visitors.

·         Secure password protection must be in place at multiple levels to ensure that access to PHI is restricted to those who need the information at that time.

·         Appropriate encryption of data is essential for transmission between systems in order to prevent the interception of data.

National Spotlight

Yet, in this video clip, CNN’s Campbell Brown and Elizabeth Cohen examined how easy it is for someone to obtain private medical information online by simply using someone’s Social Security number and date of birth www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Assessment

Whenever the subject of proliferating eHRs catches the national spotlight, you can bet that debates about privacy aren’t far behind. Indeed the privacy issue has already started to gain some traction in the media with the above video, and more.

Conclusion

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