What safeguards do you presently have in your professional practice to ensure the protection of patient information?

Instructions:
Respond to at least two other student’s postings with substantive comments.
Substantive comments add to the discussion and provide your fellow students with information that will enhance the learning environment.
References and citations should conform to the APA standards.
Remember: Please respect the opinions of others, even if their views differ. In other words, disagree professionally and respectfully.
Plagiarism is never acceptable – give credit when credit is due – cite your sources.
Responses need to address all components of the question, demonstrate critical thinking and analysis, and include peer reviewed journal evidence to support the student’s position.
Please review the rubric to ensure that your response meets the criteria.

Peer 1:
What safeguards do you presently have in your professional practice to ensure the protection of patient information?
My hospital has converted to an electronic medical record (EMR) system, making everything online. There are no paper charts lying around the hospitals, and any paper orders by a physician are scanned into the EMR. All information is stored electronically and only accessed when staff needs it. Only employees with passwords can access patient information. Employees only have access to the information they need to do their jobs. Electronic records are more secure and reliable for patient privacy and information. “Patient data have conventionally been thought to be well protected by the privacy laws outlined in the United States” (Chiruvella, 2021).
What safeguards are currently utilized at your healthcare organization to ensure privacy?
My hospital has privacy screens on the computers, so patients’ information is not visible to others. Another safeguard is the auto login feature, where you tap your badge on a pad, automatically logging in with your credentials. There is an auto log-off that logs off when the computer is idle. The IT department sends cautionary bulletins and emails to educate staff on tactics others can use to gain access to patient information. “Health information databases contain sensitive patient information, including their names and addresses, tests, diagnoses, treatment, and medical history” (Basil et al., 2022).
What types of ethical concerns could an organization incur if a data breach were to occur?
Healthcare privacy is a central ethical concern involving big data, with vast personal information widely accessible electronically. “During the last decades, information and communication technology (ICT) has provided healthcare professionals with support in managing research and patient care information” (Tertulino et al., 2024). Unfortunately, data breaches still occur despite providers’ fully compliant policies and procedures.
Reference
Basil NN, Ambe S, Ekhator C, & Fonkem E. Health Records Database and Inherent Security Concerns: A Review of the Literature. Cureus. 2022 Oct 11;14(10):e30168. doi: 10.7759/cureus.30168. PMID: 36397924; PMCID: PMC9647912. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9647912/Links to an external site.
Chiruvella V, Guddati AK. Ethical Issues in Patient Data Ownership. Interact J Med Res. 2021 May 21;10(2):e22269. doi: 10.2196/22269. PMID: 34018968; PMCID: PMC8178732. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8178732/Links to an external site.
Tertulino, R., Antunes, N. & Morais, H. Privacy in electronic health records: a systematic mapping study. J Public Health (Berl.) 32, 435–454 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-022-01795-zLinks to an external site.

Peer 2:
What safeguards do you presently have in your professional practice to ensure protection of patient information?
In my current role as a nurse, there are several safeguards that my workplace has in place to ensure the protection of patient information. The first is the implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance. HIPAA was established in 1996 as a federal law created to protect patient health information from release without a patient’s knowledge or consent (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). All patients at the practice I work for sign a HIPAA release before treatment is rendered. The second safeguard my work has in practice is encrypted emails. We use a service called Virtu which encrypts all emails regarding patient information or services. The third is safeguarding physical documentation in locked cabinets and secured rooms. Finally, we have access control of electronic patient information. For example, only staff who need access to patient records have access to them with their login and password.
What safeguards are currently utilized at your healthcare organization to ensure privacy?
The same safeguards regarding protecting patient information apply to ensure patient privacy. However, one additional area my healthcare organization takes to ensure privacy is secure communication. In addition to the encrypted email service used we also have secure phone lines to access patients for each different area of the practice. We also have an online portal where patients can message staff electronically through their portal to receive confidential and quick responses.
We also consider HIPAA when discussing patient information. This means the minimal amount of information necessary is disclosed to complete a task or transfer. Each staff member is trained in HIPAA and its compliance to safeguard patient information and privacy (Tariq & Hackert, 2023).
What types of ethical concerns could an organization incur if a data breach were to occur?
The largest ethical concern an organization could incur if a data breach were to occur is the responsibility to notify those affected by the breach. If organizations do not notify individuals affected by a potential breach, then the trust in the organization could be lost, which could lead to a tarnished reputation, a potentially worsening situation for those compromised, and a HIPAA violation. A HIPAA violation can lead to fines and legal consequences (Tariq & Hackert, 2023). Aside from these consequences, it could also affect patient care and safety. For example, if medical records are lost, altered, or compromised, information could affect patient care. This could increase the risk of harm to patients.
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Acts of 1996 (HIPAA). https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/publications/topic/hipaa.htmlLinks to an external site.
Tariq, R. A., & Hackert, P. B. (2023). Patient confidentiality. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing.