Legal and Ethical Aspects of Health Information Management

Legal and Ethical Aspects of Health Information Management

My experience with the legal and ethical aspects of health information management have been with patient’s protected health information in a medical record and the use of telemedicine in my admissions department where I worked. I worked with patients in the rehab department. I became very familiar with the ethical and legal aspects of health information management my boss was the Director of rehab. Based on fundamental concepts, protecting health information and its use is a top priority. With telemedicine patients are now assessed more quickly and can access a wide variety of providers. Patients are able to visualize and personalize their experience with their physician the remote access called telemedicine. Legally and ethically our system is set up to be both secure and private. Our entire admission process has been improved affecting positively on clinical outcomes.

The AHIMA code of ethics serves seven purposes, Promotes high standards of HIM (Health Information Management)practice, Identifies core values on which the HIM mission is based, Summarizes broad ethical principles that reflect the profession's core values, Establishes a set of ethical principles to be used to guide decision-making and actions, Establishes a framework for professional behavior and responsibilities when professional obligations conflict or ethical uncertainties arise, Provides ethical principles by which the general public can hold the HIM professional accountable,(October 2, 2011)

   With this there are several components to the ethical and legal aspects of health information management,along with this comes the protection of patient rights. Most of patient’s health information is now computerized, stored in electronic health records and transmitted via the internet, or just in a companies private network unless needed else ware. Legal and ethical aspects of health information management define how protected health information is handled and disclosed. These enormous databases of medical information offer improved access to timely information, evidence-based treatments, and complete records from which to provide care (Angst, 2009). Things don't always work the way we want to, although things are getting better.Our ethics standards, Hippocratic Oath and those of AHIMA clearly define how we are ethically bound to protect our patients and do no harm (Cassidy, 2011). Legal parameters set the boundaries by which healthcare providers must maintain and protect health information. Laws and rules are written in order to ensure that this practice is upheld and for those who break those rules penalties are assigned. Some people do not care about the rules, we once had a patients family come in and demand information, or I think maybe they wanted their family member to be discharged so they could go home, the person with the gun needed money. It didn't work we were able to get him to leave, we then had armed security there for awhile. Things can get scary sometimes.

 Ethical parameters set boundaries on behaviors that are normalized within society. Individuals often learn ethical boundaries from their parents, mentors,society and religion. In health information management legal and ethical considerations are mandatory when assuming the responsibility of securing and keeping protected health information private no matter who thinks they have the right. Federal and state regulatory requirements such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).  Ethical issues often surround how security and privacy and healthcare decisions are made in healthcare information management. Protecting patient confidentiality is a key factor in obtaining and retaining trust, protecting the patient and maintaining professionalism at all times (Warren, 2014). Although I sometimes wonder if the VHA (Veterans Health

Administration) Hospitals follow these guidelines. I have been a patient a couple of times and I wonder. I felt I was alone in the dark, a lot of lack of communication. Well it doesn't surprise me how things are going in the VA.

Legal and ethical issues aspects of healthcare information management have drastically impacted society today. Some people like it some people don't Some Presidents think they are helping everyone with the healthcare plan they come up with. One has to realize not everyone will agree with the changes in health care today.What they do have to realize is this is the way things are now. There will be improvements and in the long run, it will be better for the majority.

 With the vast array of mobile devices that are available, health information management must encompass all of these areas in order to protect the privacy and security of an individual's information. Technologies rapid development creates new issues that providers and IT developers must keep abreast of. With all these devises available portability and accessibility of EHR data raises ethical questions regarding ownership of protected health information. Clinicians' responsibility to prevent and inform patients of the potential for privacy breaches.You never know when someone may try to hack your secure system, laws are ever changing, just like everything in this technology world. We have to take the good with the bad.

With that being said there are still challenges to define the boundaries between accessing and permissions parameters within mobile devices.After all mobile devises are the wave of the future

and they are not going away! 

References:

http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahima/bok1_024277.hcsp?dDocName=bok1_024277(October 2011)

Angst, C. M. (2009). Protect my privacy or support the common-good? ethical questions about electronic health information exchanges. Journal of Business Ethics, 90, 169-178. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0385-5

Cassidy, B.  (2011).  AHIMA's Code of Ethics. Journal of AHIMA, 82(3), 10.  Retrieved from the ProQuest database.

Warren, L. (2014). Who needs to know? Occupational Health, 66(3), 18-20. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1512597244?accountid=32521

Health Care Informatics Evolutions and Transformation to Today

If someone would have ever told me that I would visit with my doctor or his nurse through a computer monitor, receive my lab results via a web portal or review my health information in a personal health record on my mobile device I would have said they were crazy! We could not possibly do that. The rapid growth of the world-wide web as a tool for global connectivity has affected the way in which health-related information is distributed and accessed over the internet (Yap, Chan & Chui, 2009). The thing is I actually somewhat do that now. I see my Dr via the traditional office visit, although my Dr tells me to secure message him on the website if I don't hear from him in a certain amount of time. I can log on and see my medications, and order refills. I can message my Dr if I want a referral for a specialty Dr. It's not perfect although it's a work in progress, never though I'd be able to do this let alone actually doing it.

Since these applications and tools are now available in a wide variety of platforms and on several types of devices, it makes it easier to use. For those who are very familiar with technology and the internet, this evolution in service delivery copies a lot of the changes we have seen in the business world. We live in a fast paced society where we expect to have technology and answers at our finger tips. Technology and communication continue to develop and advance so we may rapidly access this information. The use of telemedicine to improve patients' health has been evolving rapidly over the past few years (Rajan, Seidmann & Dorsey, 2013).  For those who have not advanced with technology changes, the new platforms and growth bring a new set of challenges. The overall evolutions in health care informatics has one goal in mind- bring health care information and processes closer to the patient while improving clinical outcomes. Quality patient centered care has improved through the application of health care informatics. I don't know this first hand as I see Dr at the VA (Veterans Administration) Hospitals and from my knowledge the VA does thing the VA way. I do know that they work with non-VA Dr because they have to sometimes send us to them when the Dr visit can not be accommodated by the VA Dr.

 Telemedicine is not a distant possibility: it is here and in play now. Healthcare leaders said that their organizations are committed to continuing to implement telemedicine programs, even as they face challenges such as getting Dr to buy into the programs and insurers to pay for them.( Rajiv Leventhal 2014)  This just gives further evidence that the telemedicne and the new technology is here to stay, It's working people like it, people are using it. With informatics being used more now than before computer health records, it is allowing the growth of  health care by all the new technology. I feel it will only get better, and as long as it benefits me the patient I can't wait.

Health information technology has the potential to improve the health of individuals and the performance of providers, yielding improved quality, cost savings, and greater engagement by patients in their own health care. Isn't that what everyone really wants? In the end everyone will be happy. Patients get great treatment and healthcare agencies make money and take care of their patients. That should mean less legal issues too, well we can hope can't we? Nothing in this world is perfect, things in healthcare with the help of informatics and telemedicine are getting a lot better, and that is good for everyone.

Yap, K., Chan, A., & Chui, W. (2009). Improving pharmaceutical care in oncology by pharmacoinformatics: the evolving role of informatics and the internet for drug therapy.Lancet Oncology, 10(10), 1011-1019. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(09)70104-4

Rajan, B., Seidmann, A., & Dorsey, E. R. (2013). The Competitive Business Impact of Using Telemedicine for the Treatment of Patients with Chronic Conditions. Journal Of Management Information Systems, 30(2), 127-158. doi:10.2753/MIS0742-1222300205

Rajiv Leventhal (2014)  http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/news-item/survey-providers-embrace-telemedicine-despite-obstacles

Introduction: Health Informatics: The Evolution of Healthcare Communication

Thinking of The Possibilities

Rob Anderson

HCA 496

Health Informatics Capstone

Paula Arceneaux

December 8th, 2014


My topics will be about the  future of healthcare communication is based in health informatics. Health Informatics is the movement of health information through a wide variety of communication methods and technologies. I will also be talking about any new and specialized methods of delivering health information, what  problems can exist. What are the challenges in bringing health informatics into healthcare.
I plan to address these topics with careful research and critical thinking. I feel these topics are at the heart of the evolution of communication in healthcare being driven by informatics.
Each week I will address the importance of Health Informatics and it's impact on health care communication. Examples of how each area of focus is interrelated and works with each other to achieve the overall goal of informed patient centered care.
Rob Anderson's Bio can be accessed here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3eSlD-PmHHwT0tYeFFhYllOZHc/view?usp=sharing