Scholarly Discussion: HIPPA, Article Critique Example

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) represents the cornerstone policy that protects the privacy of people’s medical information. The case against former UCLA cardiac surgeon Huping Zhou is a fascinating and controversial case that involves the violation of privacy by a practicing physician. After his termination, Zhou accessed medical files of his former colleagues and superiors in addition to celebrity files, which is a blatant violation of HIPAA.  However, as this student pointed out, the case was mired in controversy due to the fact that had to serve jail time for his actions. While Zhou violated privacy rights of over three hundred patients during his tenure at UCLA, he never disseminated or sold the information he came across. According to the law, breaching HIPAA yields a punishment of between $50,000 to $100,000 and 1-5 years in prison if an individual violates HIPAA in order to procure information for the purpose of selling or leaking the information for a certain reasons (HIPAA Violation & Enforcement, N.d.). Nonetheless, I disagree that his sentence and fine was appropriate and perhaps too harsh as this student stated. Zhou was sentenced to four years in jail and a meager fine of $2,000 for four misdemeanor violations he committed after his termination. The ruling in this case sets a precedent that enables practicing physicians to access medical files with impunity. Zhou accessed the files of his former coworkers, superiors, and celebrities which demonstrates an intent to find information to disseminate–possibly to the media–for nefarious and/or monetary purposes. Inappropriate access to certain medical databases such as ePHI for the medical information of celebrities has been noted after Zhou’s termination, which is alarming and indicates that many other medical institutions most likely confront a similar problem. This case underscores how poor termination protocols can be blamed for a litany of HIPAA violations that have taken place at UCLA. Zhou never should have had access to UCLA networks or ePHI for the months following his firing. He took advantage of his continued access to the networks, which enabled privacy violations to transpire. The wording of the HIPAA law is the reason why Zhou received such a light sentence relative to what he should have received. Such a light sentence enables healthcare workers to breach privacy laws without fear of harsh retribution. Thus, the wording of HIPAA should be changed and a more draconian approach to the adjudication of HIPAA cases is necessary to ensure that people’s medical information remains protected.

References

Bulman, C. & Schutz, S. (2008). (Eds.). Reflective practice in nursing. Hoboken NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.

HIPAA violation and enforcement. (n.d.). American Medical Association. Retrieved October 29, 2015 from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/solutions-managing-your-practice/coding-billing-insurance/hipaahealth-insurance-portability-accountability-act/hipaa-violations-enforcement.page