Healthcare Case, Term Paper Example

What steps does your organization take to ensure privacy and confidentiality of patient records and information? Describe how they work and who they involve?

My organization is Kaiser Permanente, which is described as an integrated managed care consortium. It is located in Oakland, California, United States of America. The organization began operations in 1945. Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield are the founders. Three separate entities form the Kaiser Permanente organization.Steps my organization takes to ensure privacy and confidentiality of patient records and informationis by validating the integrity of their KP Health Connect and Medical Data Exchange databases (Hendricks, 1993).

Adherence to HIPPA regulations regarding security/ privacy/confidentiality is acknowledged and applied when implementing electronic health records systems across the network of managed care consortium. From the organizational level HIPPA mandates Covered Entity Responsibilities. This means that in case a covered entity becomes aware of any activity or business practice implicating violation or material breach of the business associate’s obligation regarding patient’s security, privacy or confidentiality immediate measures must be taken to resolve the breach amending the violation.Violations are inclusive of failure to install databases which safeguard and appropriately protect e-PHI. My organization is compliant with the Covered Entity Responsibility HIPPA regulations (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2013).

Precisely, any covered entity is mandated to limit physical access to its facilities’ databases ensuring privacy/ security of patients’ information. Only authorized access is permitted. Besides, a work station and security device has been established in my organization being a covered entity. Specific procedures regarding removal, transfers, disposal and reusing electronic media are implicit within the KPConnect network ensuring appropriate electronic health record protection. Accordingly, through Business Associate Contracts further modifications are made from time to time by HHS obligating entities enrolled business associate to comply with2009 HITECH. My organization is covered under the business associate contract (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2013).

What types of measures do you think are the most important? Why?

In my opinion the most important measures are those related to providing integrity, confidentiality as well as making available all e-PHI which are received, created transmitted and maintained in compliance with covered entity responsibilities along with being efficient Business Associate Contractors. In doing so it would facilitate early identification security threats, which ultimately can compromise confidentiality. The extensiveness of my organization’s health information network it is imperative thatKP Health Connect and Medical Data Exchange databases have the measures mentioned above established and functioning efficiently (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2013).

There are reports whereby many huge government electronic networks have been breached and patients/clients’ data were exposed on the World Wide Web. However, technology analysts have argued that despite present HIPPA regulations and attempts by huge networks such asKP Health Connect and Medical Data Exchange as my organization, it would be difficult to protect patient information. Once computer are involved and data exchange is enacted measures adapted can only limit the extent to which breaches can occur. Consequently, a covered entity such as Kaiser Permanente must update it system security protocols and endure that employees are compliant with regulations in using the system. Precisely, HIPPA violations carry severe penalties which can jeopardize operations within the whole company (Joint Commission On Accreditation Of Healthcare Organizations, USA, 2008).

References

Hendricks, R. (1993). A Model for National Health Care: The History of Kaiser Permanente New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press

Joint Commission On Accreditation Of Healthcare Organizations, USA (2008). Safely implementing health information and converging technologies. Sentinel event alert / Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (42): 1–4

US Department of Health and Human Services.(2013). Health Information privacy. Retrieved on December 21^st, 2013 from http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/srsummary.html