Answer for NRS 450 Evaluate the professional responsibilities for the ethical use of health care informatics technology Topic 2 DQ 1
Answer for NRS 450 Evaluate the professional responsibilities for the ethical use of health care informatics technology
Topic 2 DQ 1
In a fast-paced environment like a medical-surgical unit, maintaining the ethical use of healthcare informatics technology is important. Carol, a staff nurse, and Henry, a nursing student, are involved in several ethical challenges arising from the misuse of electronic health records (EHRs) and potential violations of professional principles.
Firstly, there is a breach of patient privacy and confidentiality. Henry, in the absence of Carol, accesses other patients’ charts without proper authorization. This action goes against the fundamental principle of advocating for the patient’s right to privacy and maintaining the confidentiality of health information. “The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) public law 104-191, was enacted into federal law to ensure that that patient medical data remains private and secure” (Tariq, 2023, para. 1). HIPAA strictly regulates the protection of health information, and unauthorized access to patient records is a clear violation. Violations can lead to heavy fines. I have personally known of a handful of medical personnel who have been fined. The worst violation I had seen was a person who disseminated the SSN of patients and staff to the entire medical group.
George, another nurse on the floor, contributes to the cascade of ethical challenges by accessing the EHR without authorization. This action compromises the integrity and security of personal health information. As medical personnel, we have the ethical and legal obligations to preserve, protect, and secure health information. The social worker Samuel contributes to the ethical violations by accessing Mr. Smith’s chart without a legitimate reason. Curiosity is not a valid reason to view a person’s chart. Patient charts should only be accessed by authorized healthcare professionals involved in the patient’s care. “Willful violations of HIPAA Rules, including theft of PHI for personal gain or use of PHI with intent to cause harm, can result in criminal penalties for HIPAA violations. HIPAA-covered entities are likely to report such incidents to law enforcement and investigations will be launched” (Alder, 2023, para. 4).
To address similar ethical challenges in my practice, I would emphasize the importance of maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality to nursing students, staff nurses, and other healthcare professionals. Regular training sessions on HIPAA regulations and secure EHR practices should be implemented to ensure that everyone on the healthcare team understands their responsibilities. One thing that could have been done differently in the scenario is to implement stricter access controls. This could include automatic logout after a period of inactivity and mandatory password protection. This type of security is already implemented in many hospitals I have worked in. Periodic audits of EHR access logs would help identify and address unauthorized access promptly. This could also work as a deterrence. In the military, we inserted our IDs into a card reader that granted us access to computers. We are trained from boot camp to maintain our IDs always secured on our persons. Leaving an ID unsupervised on a computer was a security risk that would result in punishment.
Alder, S. (2023, December 1). What happens if a nurse violates HIPAA? updated for 2023. The HIPAA Journal . https://www.hipaajournal.com/what-happens-nurse-violates-hipaa/
Tariq, R. A. (2023, January 23). Patient confidentiality. StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519540/
