NURS 3110 Week 1 Assignment 1: HIPAA – An Issue of Patient Privacy

NURS 3110 Week 1 Assignment 1: HIPAA – An Issue of Patient Privacy

NURS 3110 Week 1 Assignment 1: HIPAA – An Issue of Patient Privacy

Technologies have brought us a lot of changes and comfort in our lives. In particular, today’s technologies have become an integral part of patient care. However, the increasing use of EHR and mobile devices has become a threat to the privacy and confidentiality of patients. “Emerging trends in healthcare delivery bring benefits as well as new threats to privacy and private health information” (Hebda & Czar, 2013, p. 23).

The purpose of this assignment is to identify how technologies can breach patient privacy and to discuss hospital and personal strategies to protect patient privacy and confidentiality.

Strategies to Safeguard Information

In the assigned scenario, I found two different cases which broke the HIPAA law. First, Jennifer, a registered nurse, realized that a co-worker, Tim, broke the privacy boundaries of his patients. Tim posted pictures of his patients to Facebook without their permission or consent sign, even though the pictures included their personal information. Second, Jennifer also realized that the personal information of patients had been shared among nurses, techs, and physicians through their personal cell phones and Google Calendar, which were not approved by the Compliance Officer or Information Technology. The first strategy to protect patient privacy when using a mobile device in the current hospital is to allow each nurse to log in only with the ID and password provided by the hospital. Our hospital uses mobile devices called personal communications devices (PCD) and personal digital assistants (PDAs) that are given to each nurse at the start of the shift. To use the PCDs and PDAs, we must log in with the username and password ID which are given by the hospital. Also, we are allowed to log in to PDAs after passing through 5 security steps. In addition, each PDA has a tracking system that keeps track of the activities each user has done through a mobile device. As a second strategy, my hospital uses employee ID badges to log in and out of mobile devices and computers. The employee ID badge which is assigned to each healthcare provider, has a chip and barcode to allow him/her to log in and out of computers, PDAs, phones, and access to doors. Using these safeguard systems to log in and out of mobile devices and computers would help to protect the privacy of patients.

Mobile Devices and Communication Issues

My current hospital does not allow nurses to use personal mobile devices but an assigned mobile device which is called PCD. PCD is given to each nurse at the beginning of the shift, and each nurse needs to hand it off to a specific person at the end of the shift. It is not able to send text messages, access to the internet, or take pictures, and is designed solely to make and receive calls. My hospital does not allow to use of personal laptop computers or tablets for charting. Nurses can only do EHR documentation on stationary computers which are secured by the hospital. Also, a text message can only be sent to a doctor via a special text system icon on a stationary computer. When a text message is sent to a doctor’s pager, the doctor calls a nurse’s PCD mobile device. This system protects patient privacy by preventing nurses or doctors from exposing patients’ information.

Nursing Strategies to Protect Health Information

Protecting patient privacy at any time and in any situation is very important, especially when using mobile devices. The personal strategies I am using to protect patient privacy and their health information are to log off assigned mobile devices or computers after documentation or use of EHR, keep my assigned mobile device safely and carry it all the time at work, and not share my assigned mobile device with others, and not use my personal cell phone at work. These are small efforts, but I think these efforts are the first step in protecting patient privacy.

Conclusion

“Mobile health may transform health care and health promotion” (Wang and Huang, 2013). However, healthcare providers must be fully aware of the breach risk of patient privacy and confidentiality and comply with HIPAA rules (McDavid, 2013. pp, 53). In particular, as a nurse, we must always protect the privacy of patients and keep them safe. By doing so, we can build trust with patients, which will help for a better quality of care. In addition, we should always consider patient privacy first and be careful when using mobile devices and EHR programs.

References

Hebda, T. and Czar, P. “The Electronic Health Record.” Handbook of Informatics for Nurses & Healthcare Professionals, 5th ed., Pearson, 2013, pp. 276–292

McDavid, J. P., Esq. (2013). HIPAA risk is contagious: Practical tips to prevent a breach. The Journal of Medical Practice Management: MPM, 29(1), 53-5. Retrieved from /orders/ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login? url=/orders/search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1437303156?accountid=14872

Wang CJ, Huang DJ. The HIPAA Conundrum in the Era of Mobile Health and Communications. JAMA.2013;310(11):1121–1122. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.219869

NURS 3110 Week 1 Assignment -Protecting Patient Health Information and the Use of Mobile Devices In the Workplace

For this HIPAA: An Issue of policy privacy Essay Assignment, review the following from this week’s resources:

Resources of HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules.

Resources on privacy and security and the use of mobile devices in patient care.

Privacy and Confidentiality Scenario

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

SCORE A+ WITH HELP FROM OUR PROFESSIONAL WRITERS – NURS 3110 Week 1 Assignment 1: HIPAA – An Issue of Patient Privacy

We will process your orders through multiple stages and checks to ensure that what we are delivering to you, in the end, is something that is precise as you envisioned it. All of our essay writing service products are 100% original, ensuring that there is no plagiarism in them. The sources are well-researched and cited so it is interesting. Our goal is to help as many students as possible with their assignments, i.e. our prices are affordable and services premium.

• Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, including a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. One or two-sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

• Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

• APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with the APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in Loud-cloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

• Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage over-utilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Master’s level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

• LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to Lopes Write, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in Loud-cloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.  NURS 3110 Week 1 Assignment 1: HIPAA – An Issue of Patient Privacy

• Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is a 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

• Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

• Guarantee

  

• Zero Plagiarism
• On-time delivery
• A-Grade Papers
• Free Revision
• 24/7 Support
• 100% Confidentiality
• Professional Writers

• Services Offered

• Custom paper writing
• Question and answers
• Essay paper writing
• Editing and proofreading
• Plagiarism removal services
• Multiple answer questions

We will process your orders through multiple stages and checks to ensure that what we are delivering to you, in the end, is something that is precise as you envisioned it. All of our essay writing service products are 100% original, ensuring that there is no plagiarism in them. The sources are well-researched and cited so it is interesting. Our goal is to help as many students as possible with their assignments, i.e. our prices are affordable and services premium.

Looking for a Similar Assignment? Order a custom-written, affordable, plagiarism-free paper