Reference no: EM133656658
Health care practitioners are ethically bound to respect the patient's dignity and to make a positive effort to secure a comfortable and considerate atmosphere for the patient in such ways as providing appropriate gowns and drapes, private facilities for undressing, and clear explanations for procedures. There are guidelines to help all health care providers stay within the scope of their practices and operate within the law and the policies of any employing health care facility. - Karen Judson and Carlene Harrison (2020)
Consider the following case from the course scenario on St. Michael's Medical Center.
Case III. Patient's Rights, Medical Records, and HIPAA
The ACA and other healthcare Laws mandate certain rights of patients to be honored, especially patient autonomy and preferences. Providers must obtain informed consent declarations and ensure patients understand issues related to their care. During one of the several admissions, a hospital staff forgot to provide patients with necessary paper work to obtain information related to informed consent, medical insurances, and other vital information. Aside from that, another problems at St. Michaels was the lack of protection of patient information as computers were left unattended, staff shared passwords with their friends, and openly discuss and leave medical records lying at the nurse's station. HIPAA law mandates the privacy and security of patient information and all providers must comply with the law.
One day, unfortunately for the hospital staff, a visitor overheard discussions about patients at the facility and was very furious. Attempts were made to get the administration address the issues because it has become a common practice by staff, but all efforts resulted in a failure. An anonymous report was made to state which resulted in a fine for the hospital for noncompliance with HIPAA regulations.
Write an analysis of this case by addressing the following issues:
1. What are some of the patient rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and how were these rights violated in this case?
2. What were the violations committed by staff members of the hospital? What should they have done to comply with the ACA and HIPAA regulations?
3. What are the specific ACA mandates that providers must honor regarding patient rights?
4. How do you use some of these mandates to resolve ethical dilemmas in healthcare?
5. What are some relevant healthcare laws enacted in the last 2 decades that could be applied in this case? Explain them briefly.
6. What are some of the recommendations you would give to the staff at the hospital regarding admission of patients, visitors, and the handling of patient information?
7. How could you as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of St. Michael's Medical Center prevent these ethical violations from taking place in the future?