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Why Is Privacy Important In Healthcare

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The healthcare has traditionally adopted technology to improving efficiency, reduction of costs, and modernization of operations. These technologies have changed over time, with smart phones being the part of the latest technology that almost everyone owns. Although, there are many positive contributions, but also it can have many negative consequences. For example, the advent of social media and the use of smartphones have dramatically changed the way players in healthcare communicate to different stakeholders. However, while social media has been instrumental in promoting communication in the given industry, the modern technologies, such as smart phones, raise major question about patients’ privacy. This paper will emphasize the severe consequence …show more content…

One of the advanced law rulings is the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). The act was established in 1996 by the Congress to prevent and reduce healthcare fraud and abuse, promote confidential handling of protected information, and establish industrial wide standards on healthcare information and electronic processes (HIPAA Journal, 2017). The particular area of concerns for HIPAA is health insurance portability. Under this title, the HIPAA is designed to address the challenge that emerges when it comes to the transfer of health care coverage when workers lose their jobs. The rest of the titles for this legislation concern the protection and confidentiality of health information. The HIPAA regulations demand that the integrity of patient date is protected and preserved. Therefore, healthcare providers should protect their clients’ information from anticipated, identified, and impermissible disclosures in order to provide the privacy of beneficiaries. In such a way, the institution under consideration should ensure that all the employees comply with these …show more content…

I am being investigated for a picture of Jerod, the lead singer in the Blue Lizards that I innocently sent to my friend. While I send the picture innocently, I have learned that such an act amounts to breach of confidential patients’ information as captured under HIPAA. Just like many other Americans who use social media, I was documents my shift activities by sharing them with friends and family. I have always viewed celebrities as a public property. In my opinion, sharing information about celebrities should not be a major concern. However, I was not aware that as a professional, I am demanded by the HIPAA regulations to act in a way that protects the confidentiality of a patient, whether a patient is a celebrity or not. Having taken photos of the celebrity and shared the images with the friend, I infringed the privacy of the patient. Such an action has a punitive consequent for both the institution as well as the staff member. To prevent further occurrence of the rules’ breach, the organizations should adopt the following

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