Reference no: EM133713860

Homework: Protected Health Information (PHI)- Privacy, Security & Confidentiality Best Practices

Prepare a 2 page interprofessional staff update on HIPAA and appropriate social media use in health care.

Introduction

Health care providers today must develop their skills in mitigating risks to their patients and they related to patient information. At the same time, they need to be able distinguish between effective and ineffective uses of social media in health care.

This homework will require you to develop a staff update for an interprofessional team to encourage team members to protect the privacy, confidentiality, and security of patient information.

Professional Context

Health professionals today are increasingly accountable for the use of protected health information (PHI). Various government and regulatory agencies promote and support privacy and security through a variety of activities. Examples include:

1) Meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR).

2) Provision of EHR incentive programs through Medicare and Medicaid.

3) Enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules.

4) Release of educational resources and tools to help providers and hospitals address privacy, security, and confidentiality risks in their practices.

Technological advances, such as the use of social media platforms and applications for patient progress tracking and communication, have provided more access to health information and improved communication between care providers and patients.

At the same time, advances such as these have resulted in more risk for protecting PHI. Nurses typically receive annual training on protecting patient information in their everyday practice. This training usually emphasizes privacy, security, and confidentiality best practices such as:

1. Keeping passwords secure.
2. Logging out of public computers.
3. Sharing patient information only with those directly providing care or who have been granted permission to receive this information.

Today, one of the major risks associated with privacy and confidentiality of patient identity and data relates to social media. Many nurses and other health care providers place themselves at risk when they use social media or other electronic communication systems inappropriately. For example, a Texas nurse was recently terminated for posting patient vaccination information on Facebook. In another case, a New York nurse was terminated for posting an insensitive emergency department photo on her Instagram account.

Preparation

As you begin to consider the homework, it would be an excellent choice to complete the Breach of Protected Health Information (PHI) activity. The activity will support your success with the homework by creating the opportunity for you to test your knowledge of potential privacy, security, and confidentiality violations of protected health information. The activity is not graded and counts towards course engagement.

To successfully prepare to complete this homework, complete the following:

I. Review the settings presented in the Homework Supplement: Protected Health Information [PDF] resource and select one to use as the focus for this homework.

II. Review the infographics on protecting PHI provided in the resources for this homework, or find other infographics to review. These infographics serve as examples of how to succinctly summarize evidence-based information.

1. Analyze these infographics and distill them into five or six principles of what makes them effective. As you design your interprofessional staff update, apply these principles. Note: In a staff update, you will not have all the images and graphics that an infographic might contain. Instead, focus your analysis on what makes the messaging effective.

III. Select from any of the following options, or a combination of options, as the focus of your interprofessional staff update:

1. Social media best practices.
2. What not to do: social media.
3. Social media risks to patient information.
4. Steps to take if a breach occurs.

IV. Conduct independent research on the topic you have selected in addition to reviewing the suggested resources for this homework. This information will serve as the source(s) of the information contained in your interprofessional staff update. Consult the BSN Program Library Research Guide for help in identifying scholarly and/or authoritative sources.