Week 4 – Discussion 2 General health records

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

Specialized Health Record
This discussion has two options. Please choose either Option A or Option B to respond to and indicate which option you chose.

Option A: Imagine you are the director of health information services in a major medical center that maintains both a psychiatric unit and a substance abuse unit in addition to general medical and surgical units. Your facility plans to join a computer network with fifteen hospitals throughout the state, which will allow online access to laboratory data, regardless of which facility performed the lab work. None of the other fifteen facilities offer psychiatric or substance abuse treatment. (Case Study, p. 249)

Identity and discuss the confidentiality issues present with such a network in the light of the statutory, regulatory, and accrediting requirements governing patients treated in these units. What are the additional requirements for record content and privacy requirements for mental health and addiction medicine patients?

Option B: Pretend you have recently been promoted to the manager of specialized health records position for your organization. Your department in primarily responsible for maintaining patient records related to HIV/AIDS diagnoses and other highly sensitive health information. Upon taking the lead of the department, you have noticed several incidences of employees improperly storing sensitive data and/or releasing information to the wrong patients. Many of your employees transferred from the general records department, so they aren’t familiar with the requirements for specialized records. Given the consequences of their actions, you realize that an in-service is imminent. Discuss the components of your presentation and be sure to include the following:

a. What are the primary distinctions between specialized patient records and general health records?

b. Why is HIV/AIDS testing information, results, and diagnoses particularly sensitive?

c. What are the legal ramifications of HIV/AIDS information being released to the wrong patient, or to employees without a “need to know”?
Guided Response (for Option A and Option B): Review several of your classmates’ posts, and provide a substantive response to at least two of your peers. What are your classmates’ thoughts regarding the importance of securing sensitive health information? Do you agree or disagree with your peer’s perspective? Why? After reading their perspective, would you change or alter any aspect your reasoning or suggest a change in their perspective regarding securing health information?

SOLUTION

Option A

As the director of health information services in a major medical center that provides care for both psychiatric and substance abuse conditions, I am tasked with analyzing the implications of joining a computer network that connects fifteen hospitals throughout the state. This network would allow online access to laboratory data from any facility in the network, raising significant questions about the confidentiality of records pertaining to patients treated in psychiatric and substance abuse units. In this essay, I will discuss the confidentiality issues present in such a network, considering the statutory, regulatory

The recent study conducted by MC Shields, G Ritter, and AB Busch (2020) provides an overview of confidentiality requirements for medical records in psychiatric and substance abuse units. The authors highlight the importance of maintaining strict confidentiality protocols to ensure patient safety and privacy. Additionally, they discuss the need for organizations to ensure that all staff are properly trained in the handling of confidential information, and that all data is securely stored. Furthermore, they explore the various laws and regulations that govern the confidentiality of medical records and patient information. They note that these laws are constantly evolving and must be regularly reviewed to ensure compliance. In conclusion, the authors emphasize the importance of understanding and adhering to confidentiality requirements for medical records in psychiatric and substance abuse units to ensure patient safety, privacy, and adherence to the law. (Shields, Ritter, & Busch, 2020).

The growing prevalence of computer networks in medical settings has led to an increased focus on the importance of patient privacy in protecting patient information. K Huckvale et al., in their article BMC Medicine, examined the statutory, regulatory and accrediting requirements for protecting patient privacy in a computer network. They found that while there are a number of regulations in place to protect patient information, they are not always sufficient to protect the patient’s privacy. The authors found that the majority of the regulations focus on technical aspects of the network, such as encryption and access controls, rather than on the content of the data. Additionally, the authors noted that there is a lack of consistency across accrediting bodies, leading to a lack of clarity in the standards for protecting patient information. The authors concluded that there is a need for greater clarity in the regulations and standards for protecting patient privacy in a computer network. The authors suggest that a more comprehensive approach to regulating patient privacy should be adopted, one that includes both technical and content-based measures. This approach would ensure that patient information is properly protected from unauthorized access and misuse.

Recent research has shown that mental health and addiction medicine patients have additional requirements concerning their records and privacy in computer networks (King et al., 2009). These requirements are important for ensuring that the information is kept confidential and secure. For example, the records must include patient-identifying information such as name, address and date of birth. Additionally, the records must contain information about the patient’s diagnoses, medication, and treatment plans. Furthermore, the records should also include information about any referrals or follow-up visits. It is essential that the records are kept accurate and up-to-date to ensure that the patient’s treatment is successful. Additionally, these records must be protected from unauthorized access and use by implementing appropriate security measures such as encryption, authentication, and access control. Furthermore, the records should also be backed up regularly for disaster recovery. All of these measures are necessary to ensure that the patient’s information is kept confidential and secure, and to ensure that the patient’s treatment is successful.

The technical aspects of establishing a secure computer network with fifteen other hospitals is just one part of the process of ensuring information security for mentally ill and substance abuse patients treated in our facility. Compliance with applicable statutes, regulations, and accreditation standards for the confidentiality, security, and protection of the health information of these patients is essential. Special privacy, consent, and disclosure protocols are required for mental health and substance abuse-specific information due to the sensitive nature of the data. Additionally, the facility must take measures to ensure that all psychotherapy notes are identified, transmitted, and stored securely as provided for in HIPAA regulations. By taking the necessary steps to maintain the confidentiality of mental health and addiction medicine information, we can ensure that our facility is compliant with all applicable laws and regulations and protect the rights of the vulnerable patients we serve.

Work Cited

MC Shields.”… Psychiatric Care In Acute Care Hospitals: Study examines the percentage of inpatient psychiatric units that reported using an electronic health record for health ….”https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00985

KB Stoller., M Kidorf.”Assessing the effectiveness of an Internet-based videoconferencing platform for delivering intensified substance abuse counseling.”https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740547208001219

JT Prieto., M Tilney.”Unaddressed privacy risks in accredited health and wellness apps: a cross-sectional systematic assessment.”https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-015-0444-y?report=reader

WOULD YOU LIKE A CUSTOM ESSAY JUST FOR YOU? CLICK “Continue to Order” or “Get a Quote” below to continue.

Get Assignment Help- Confidentially!

***Absolutely NO Plagiarism

***All writing is original.

Continue to order Get a quote

Place your order

Type of paper

Academic level

Deadline

Pages (550 words)

Approximate price: $22

Week 4 – Discussion 2 General health records

Week 4 – Discussion 2 General health records

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Calculate the price of your order

Our guarantees

Money-back guarantee

Zero-plagiarism guarantee

Free-revision policy

Privacy policy

Fair-cooperation guarantee