Health information systems and management

Health Information

Patient Health Information

Information privacy and security in healthcare is an issue of growing significance in the U.S. Having taken up the position of office manager in a healthcare organization that is in the process of automating its health processes, I have identified a number of factors that I may have to take into consideration to ensure that the information systems developed are in compliance with the professional standards of practice, facility policy, as well as the various state and federal laws and regulations that govern the confidentiality and privacy of e-health information. These factors include privacy and confidentiality legislation, the benefits of having an effective system of information flow within an organization, the role of health information in reducing abuse and fraud in such processes of billing, standards governing health information, and ways of ensuring compliance with the said standards.

Importance of Computerized Record-Keeping in Healthcare Organizations

Investing in effective health information systems would yield a number of benefits for the organization, including:

Better abilities to detect and control endemic and emerging health problems; as well as to monitor the heath progress of individual patients more effectively

Empowering communities and individuals with accurate health-related information, thereby making them better drivers of quality improvements.

Creating better possibilities for evidence-based health research.

Improving governance by mobilize new resources and ensuring accountability in resource allocation

Reductions in billing abuse and fraud

However, I reckon that the organization will only be in a position to fully enjoy the aforementioned benefits if it complies with the legal requirements and legislation governing the privacy and security of protected patient health information.

Legal Requirements Governing Patient Health Information

Unless patients are assured of the confidentiality of the information they give to healthcare providers, they are likely to withhold crucial pieces of information that could affect the outcome and the quality of care. The confidentiality and privacy of patient health information in this age of automation is protected by a series of state and federal laws and regulations.

Privacy and Security Rules under HIPAA: HIPAA was enacted to aid in the streamlining of information transactions and electronic health records system. Its primary purpose was to help covered entities cut down on administrative costs by standardizing healthcare processes. The HIPAA privacy rule governs the disclosure of confidential health information among clearinghouses, medical providers, healthcare plans, and other covered entities. The security rule, on the other hand, requires covered entities to take relevant measures to ensure that they put in place effective administrative and technical safeguards to monitor organizational information access and ensure that patient information does not fall into unsafe hands (Appari & Johnson, 2008).

Numerous other pieces of legislation have been enacted in different states and the District of Columbia to govern the privacy and confidentiality of patient health information. At the federal level, Congress has passed several crucial laws to reinforce the HIPAA rules. They include the Technologies for Restoring Users' Security and Trust in Health Information Act of 2008, the National Health Information Technology and Privacy Advancement Act of 2007, and the Health information Privacy and Security Act, all of which are geared at improving health information privacy and technology systems and reinforcing the privacy protections offered under HIPAA (Appari & Johnson, 2008).

So what is it that organizations need to do to ensure compliance with HIPAA security rules? Several measures could be taken in this regard -- first, the organization could adopt access control tools such as PIN numbers and passwords, which would essentially limit access to confidential health information to authorized personnel only (Rodriguez, 2011). Further, the organization could incorporate data encryption technology into the information system, such that the protected information is only accessible to persons who can decrypt it using special key combinations (Rodriguez, 2011). Moreover, audit trail technology, which enables the system to maintain records of who accessed the stored information, who made changes to the same, and when the changes were made could also be adopted to aid in protecting the privacy of protected health information (Rodriguez, 2011).