The advancement in information systems have changed and improved the methods we use to record the health information of patients. This system is highly effective as it promote interaction and collaboration between physicians, clinicians, administration, nurses; health insurance companies in essence, the entire healthcare team. This ultimately improves the efficiency and quality of care for the patient. Wilkerson, Henricks, Castellani, Whitsitt, & Sinard pointed out that: “In the era of electronic health record, the success of laboratories and pathologists will depend on effective presentation and management of laboratory information, including test orders and results, and effective exchange of data between the laboratory information system and the electronic record” (p.319). …show more content…
The information can be stolen by hackers or maybe unscrupulous healthcare associates for financial gains. This action will erode the trust and confidence of the patient and the community will have a negative perception of the institution. In addition, the action clearly violates the Privacy Act 1994 and the Health Insurance Probability Act 1996. Moreover, this can lead to law suits against the medical facility. In a recent article published by Melamedia , LLC., statistics released by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) were presented which shed light on HITECH breaches. In was highlighted that more than 133,259,541 people have been affected by 1,221 HITECH Act breaches through May 17; this represents an increase of about 116,614 patients and the addition of 22 new breaches. Similarly, the breaches of Premera and Anthem account for almost 70% of patients affected by HITECH