NURS FPX 4040 Assessment 2 Protected Health Information Phi Privacy Security and Confidentiality Best Practice

Name

Capella university

NURS-FPX 4040 Managing Health Information and Technology

Prof. Name

Date

Protecting privacy: HIPPA & Social Media

Protected Health Information

• Protected Health Information (PHI) refers to any data collected, processed, and distributed by an authorized healthcare entity to assist patients with diagnostic and care details (Isola & Al Khalili, 2022). In hospital settings, PHI is confidential as it includes sensitive information about patient’s history, payment data for services, recognition of their health status, genetic data, and updates to treatment approaches.
• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) applies rigorous rules to safeguard PHI, keeping patient confidentiality and privacy in hospital settings (Mia et al., 2022). 
• In hospital settings, health teams must adhere to HIPAA principles and execute stringent protections when managing PHI. Failure to comply results in unintentional disclosures, data breaches, and mishandling of confidential data, leading to substantial impacts for medical experts.

Privacy

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are cohesive systems for managing PHI, enabling communication between departments in hospital settings. To protect the privacy of  Electronic Health Information (EHI), strong security protocols are executed to avoid unauthorized access, misuse, or unintentional disclosure of PHI,  ensuring compliance with HIPAA (Mia et al., 2022).

Executing role-based access control guarantees that only selected personnel can access and modify EHI, upholding data integrity and improving operational skills and patient confidence.

Security

Protecting EHRs within hospitals reinforces the defense of PHI against cyber threats. For instance, organizing advanced encryption methods and multifaceted authentication protocols blocks unofficial access to patient data, ensuring its privacy and adherence to regulatory criteria.

Confidentiality

• Sustaining the privacy of EHI protections PHI during interactions between patients and healthcare departments (Leonard et al., 2022)
• For instance, applying secure, encrypted messaging systems to transmit diagnostic results safeguards that unauthorized parties cannot access sensitive data, preserving its confidentiality

Interprofessional Collaboration 

And Electronic Health Information

• Collaborative efforts among various healthcare experts are vital in managing the complex nature of patient care, which demands a wide range of skills to alleviate potential risks. Healthcare services must implement a multidisciplinary approach to protect EHI while ensuring seamless communication across sectors. 
• Coordination among healthcare providers, such as doctors, nurses, and allied health specialists, is crucial for achieving optimal patient outcomes while protecting privacy and data security protocols. 
• Utilizing the skills of experts from different disciplines encourages dialogue, nurtures collaborative problem-solving, and assists in addressing privacy issues. 
• This collaborative approach strengthens data security measures, promotes patient trust in the hospitals settings and improves the quality and safety of patient care (Leonard et al., 2022).

Proven Strategies to Minimize Risk of Violations

• Healthcare experts’ use of social media within hospital settings presents possible risks to patient privacy and can damage the belief between patients and providers. Posting images or videos on platforms such as Facebook without proper authorization inadvertently violates HIPAA rules, compromising confidentiality and privacy protocols.
•  Social media platforms can be exposed to cyberattacks, putting patient data at risk due to insufficient security protocols. To address these fears, hospital settings must adhere to HIPAA regulations and adopt innovative security technologies, such as encryption and blockchain, to protect EHR and PHI (Khawaja et al., 2024). 
• Developing constant training initiatives for healthcare staff focused on complying with HIPAA regulations, securing patient data, and safeguarding confidentiality. 
•  Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) imposes multi-factor authentication to access records and delivers an extra security tier beyond outdated passwords (Cobrado et al., 2024). Executing these evidence-driven strategies reinforces the safeguarding of patient data and boosts confidence in healthcare systems.

Updated Risks of Social Media Usage

• Mismanagement of PHI on social media can result in healthcare experts violating HIPAA standards, exposing them to serious penalties. Revealing patient details without proper authorization is a breach of HIPAA, which can lead to legal actions and financial penalties.
• The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the Department of Health imposed a $10,000 penalty on a dental practice for illegally sharing a patient’s PHI without authorization (Hennessy et al., 2023). 
• A $500 fine was imposed on a physician, who was also authorized to take a confidentiality training course after sharing patient details on Facebook (Hennessy et al., 2023). 
• Regular training sessions on HIPAA-compliant social media usage are vital for all healthcare staff, irrespective of their access to PHI. This training plays a dynamic role in avoiding violations and reducing risks.

Do’s

• Ensure that social media posts do not contain personally recognizable patient data, including names, medical histories, or other confidential data.
• Secure open patient consent before posting any data related to their treatment on social media platforms.
• Engage in continuous training to stay efficient on HIPAA rules and best social media practices within healthcare.

Don’ts

• Avoid posting close medical details or asking for advice on patient cases from peers through social media platforms.
• Doctors should cease sharing data of specific patient cases on social media to maintain strict privacy standards. 
• They must refrain from sharing evidence regarding patient communications or the length of consultations.

References

Cobrado, U. N., Sharief, S., Regahal, N. G., Zepka, E., Mamauag, M., & Velasco, L. C. (2024). Access control solutions in electronic health record systems: A systematic review. Informatics in Medicine Unlocked, 49, 101552–101552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imu.2024.101552 

Hennessy, M., Story, J., & Enko, P. (2023). Lessons learned: Avoiding risks when using social media. Missouri Medicine, 120(5), 345. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10569390/ 

Isola, S., & Al Khalili, Y. (2023). Protected health information. PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553131/

NURS FPX 4040 Assessment 2 Protected Health Information Phi Privacy Security and Confidentiality Best Practice

Khawaja, S. R., Chopra, K. N., Gulzar, Greene, N. L., Gorsky, A., Hussain, Z. B., Gottschalk, M. B., Huang, A. L., Klifto, C. S., & Wagner, E. R. (2024). The impact of social media for shoulder surgeons: A prevalence and correlation study with online and academic presence. JSES International. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseint.2024.11.006

Leonard, L. D., Himelhoch, B., Huynh, V., Wolverton, D., Jaiswal, K., Ahrendt, G., Sams, S., Cumbler, E., Schulick, R., & Tevis, S. E. (2022). Patient and clinician perceptions of the immediate release of electronic health information. The American Journal of Surgery, 224(1), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.12.002

Mia, M. R., Shahriar, H., Valero, M., Sakib, N., Saha, B., Barek, M. A., Faruk, M. J. H., Goodman, B., Khan, R. A., & Ahamed, S. I. (2022). A comparative study on HIPAA technical safeguards assessment of android mHealth applications. Smart Health, 26, 100349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smhl.2022.100349

NURS FPX 4040 Assessment 2 Protected Health Information Phi Privacy Security and Confidentiality Best Practice