HCA322: Health Care Ethics & Medical Law- HIPPA Privacy Rule Final Paper

RUNNING HEADER: BREACH OF PRIVACY

Breach of Privacy Altonice Cox HCA322: Health Care Ethics & Medical Law Joyce Williams April 17, 2017

Annotated Bibliography: Breach of Privacy 1. Carmen Chirinos, (3 August 2015). Introduction to Medical Law, Ethics, and Bioethics Healthcare Ethics and Medical Law sets clear guidelines on how operations are carried out or systems are run in a medical setting. Laws may vary from one state to another. It is prohibited to practice medicine without a license or allowing unlicensed personnel do the same. Physicians have the duty to protect patients from both physical and emotional harm. Engaging in the above misconducts can lead to a felony conviction. Ethics, on the other hand, have everything to do with morals. Medical practitioners are expected, to be honest, hardworking, responsible and very keen. Some of these laws and ethics are contained in the Patients' Bill of Rights and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 (Chirinos, 2015).

2. Health Information Privacy. (2015, December 18). Retrieved April 17, 2017, from https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/index.html

The HIPAA Act of 1996 directed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop rules that would safeguard patients' privacy and security. HHS obeyed, and they published what came to be known as HIPAA Privacy Rule. Grounds used to protect or withhold certain health information from abuse were established. Within HHS, there is an office that enforces the Privacy Rule. It is known as Office for Civil Rights (OCR). In relation to the nurse incident, the patient’s interest will be safeguarded through the rules.

3. Legal & Regulatory Affairs staff, (October 23, 2014) APApractice Organization Are you aware of HIPAA breach notification standards To conduct a proper and conclusive investigation, a few factors have to be analyzed. The procedure includes a) risk assessment to determine the actual nature of the protected health information. For example, if the breached information reveals the patient's identity. Establish the authority of the person who disclosed the information and to whom. More important is to find out whether the information was viewed or acquired. Lastly, seek to know if any steps are being taken to mitigate the situation. b) Decide when and how to notify the patient that her privacy was unfortunately breached. This should be accompanied by clear descriptions including dates and time. c) The final thing to do is to report the issue to the Department of Human Health Services. These steps would prove useful if followed devotedly in the process of resolving the nurse-patient conflict at the hospital (staff, 2014). 4. Jamie Lund, (autumn, 2005), ERISA Enforcement of the HIPAA Privacy Rules. The University of Chicago Law Review. Vol. 72, No. 4 pp. 1413-1443. A few years ago there was a lawsuit initiated by Daniel Duffey, an automaker working for General Motors (GM). Daniel took advantage of some of the counseling services offered by the Motor Company to help him overcome his drug problems. While attending the sessions as required, he disclosed that he was a substance abuser. Consequently, his company decided to discharge him based on the same grounds. He decided to take a legal action against the GM but the case was dismissed because he did not follow due process. The hospital and Duffey’s case are similar because in both a patient’s private information has been disclosed. One lesson can be learned from Daniel’s legal action. It is important to follow due process to make a case stand in court (Jamie Lund, 2005). 5. G M Stirrat, C Johnston, R Gillon, and K Boyd, (January 2010) Journal of Medical Ethics Vol. 36 No. 1, pp. 55-60 Medical Ethics and law for doctors of tomorrow: the 1998 Consensus Statement updated This article presents vast knowledge concerning ethics and legal requirements in the field of medicine. It urges physicians and those yearning to pursue the career to uphold the set rules, ethics and standards of operation. In the hospital case scenario, the young patient's privacy was violated in regards to HIPAA rules. Therefore, the nurse if not the hospital faces the risk of being sued for gross violation of the code of conduct. (G M Stirrat, 2010) The nurse failed to uphold the spirit of professionalism required by "Good Medical Practice.” 6. V. Bankauskaite and I. Jakusovaite, (October 2006) Journal of Medical Ethics Vol. 32 No. 10, pp. 584-587 Journal Article Dealing with Ethical Problems in the Healthcare System in Lithuania: Achievements and Challenges The field of medicine practice is marred by many challenges. Some can be managed easily while others pose significant challenges. This article exceptionally offers guidelines on how to tackle challenges related to healthcare ethics. When physicians go against the code of conduct of which they swore an oath to, they have to be held accountable (V. Bankauskaite and I. Jakusovaite, 2006). Due to the effects of the Privacy breach on the patient, the nurse would be put on administrative leave to give room for investigation. The investigation carried out would put all the events into perspective, revealing why the nurse would disclose a patient's personal information to her daughter. After all the facts have been weighed, it would be easy to determine what kind of punishment the nurse deserves. Nevertheless, the likelihood of her being fired and losing her practice license is very high.

References

Chirinos, C. (2015). Introduction to Medical Law, Ethics and Bioethics Retrieved from https://prezi.com/3vxpuelzw_ba/introduction-to-medical-law-ethics-and-bioethics/.

G M Stirrat, C. J. (2010). Medical ethics and law for doctors of tomorrow: the 1998 Consensus Statement updated. Journal of Medical Ethics , Vol. 36 No. 1, pp. 55-60.

Health Information Privacy. (2015, December 18). Retrieved April 17, 2017, from https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/index.html

Jamie Lund. (2005). ERISA Enforcement of the HIPAA Privacy Rules. . The University of Chicago Law Review., Vol. 72, No. 4 pp. 1413-1443.

Staff, L. &. (2014). APA practice Organization Are you aware of HIPAA breach notification standards? .

V. Bankauskaite and I. Jakusovaite. (2006). Journal Article Dealing with Ethical Problems in the Healthcare System in Lithuania: Achievements and Challenges. Journal of Medical Ethics, Vol. 32 No. 10, pp. 584-587.