Content Preview

We Can, But Dare We?

Technology advances in healthcare have advanced tremendously over the years even as recently as the last few. Technology has made our lives easier and continues to make healthcare easier. Patients can get care faster and easier than ever before. Patients are able to access their medical records electronically at any time. Technology also helps with errors in the health system. But with technology comes advantages and challenges associated. It can be dangerous if it does not function accurately. The purpose of this paper will focus on technology and how it is associated with healthcare. It will discuss HIPAA, the advantages and disadvantages of technology, and the scenario choice with evaluation and recommendations.

HIPAA, Legal, and Regulatory

When the electronic medical record system is down and doctors are being sent photos of patient information by text messaging, it is more of when HIPAA will break. HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It was signed into place in 1996 by President Bill Clinton. This act is a federal law that protects the sensitive information of a patient’s health without the consent or knowledge of the patient. Many health systems make a big deal about HIPAA because it is just that big of a deal. Nurses or whoever has accessed the information can be fired for the offense if a patient's information is breached. Information protected by HIPAA should only be on a need-to-know basis to help that patient recover. The patient’s medical information is considered Protected Health Information, or PHI. PHI includes all information that could possibly identify a patient. This includes but is not limited to their name, address, birth date, social security number, medical record number, and even their phone number. Several security measures are put in place to prevent any illegal access to patient information. Some of these security measures are needing a username and password to log in to the computer system, computers that lock when not being used, and nurses should keep in mind to log off when they are done with the computer. As a nurse, privacy regarding patient information should always be upheld. Appropriate use of technology should never allow healthcare workers to use personal devices to communicate patient information……..Continue