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Protected Health Information (PHI): Privacy Security and Confidentiality Best Practices

Protected Health Information (PHI): Privacy Security and Confidentiality Best Practices

Protected health information PHI is the patients’ personal information collected by healthcare professionals for patient identification. Protected health information includes demographics, medical history, tests and laboratory results, health conditions, and insurance information.

The HIPAA act mandates healthcare institutions to maintain safeguards that ensure confidentiality, privacy, integrity, and protection of health information from access by unauthorized persons. The act also outlines guidelines for running health apps that use, store, or transmit protected health information (HIPAA journal, 2022).

Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality and the Laws Governing the Interdisciplinary Team

Patient privacy is the protection of the information that the institution collects about the individual. Confidentiality is the protection from sharing information with unauthorized persons. Security is the protection of information from unauthorized access. According to Keshta and Odeh (2021), patient privacy, security, and confidentiality concerns include failure to safeguard various information directly affecting patients’ families. The interdisciplinary team is guided by the HIPAA act and the patient safety protection laws of the institution.

Importance of the interdisciplinary collaboration in safeguarding sensitive electronic health information

The interdisciplinary team safeguards sensitive electronic information to prevent the consequences of breaching patient protection from affecting the entire healthcare institution. The team protects sensitive information using measures such as having passwords for sensitive information databases and biometric login verification. The interdisciplinary team includes nurses, doctors, nurse informaticists, and IT consultants.

Evidence-Based Approaches to Mitigate Risks to Patients and Healthcare Staff Related to Sensitive Electronic Health Information

Our institution’s evidence-based approaches to mitigate patient risks related to sensitive electronic health information include staff training, disciplinary action against the staff breaching the set guidelines, and legal action (Zhou et al., 2018). The institution has annual social media and information technology training for all staff members, reminding staff of the safety issues of social media use and the protection of health information. There are also set steps to report social media misconduct and breaches, and all the staff members are aware of the consequences.

Interprofessional Staff Update

Every member of staff should be careful when using social media so that we can maintain patient safety. We need to safeguard the patients’ privacy, confidentiality, and security to achieve desired patient outcomes and make our work safe.

Social Media Best Practices

  • Healthcare professionals should have a clear distinction between social media and work.
  • Care providers should not post content that may bring privacy and security concerns to the patient.
  • Care providers should not post patients’ personal information on social media platforms, especially personal identification information.
  • The doctors and nurses should not post any diagnostic or patient medical history on social media without the patient’s consent.
  • Avoid sharing any sensitive patient information on social media platforms.
  • Social media misconduct should be reported to the disciplinary of the institution or the relevant authority.

 Social Media Risks to Patient Information

The profound use of social media in healthcare poses a significant risk to sensitive patient information (Terrase, Gorin &Sisti, 2019). Patient information that hackers access may have detrimental effects on the patients’ safety and security. Personal information can be used to con the patient and patient families in the name of the healthcare institution.

Also, the healthcare professionals’ accounts can be hacked, and patient information shared by hackers, thus attracting legal implications to the healthcare professional. Therefore, it is integral for all healthcare staff in the interdisciplinary team to maintain good social media use and avoid sharing patient information.

References

Keshta, I., & Odeh, A. (2021). Security and privacy of electronic health records: Concerns and challenges. Egyptian Informatics Journal, 22(2), 177-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eij.2020.07.003

Terrasse, M., Gorin, M., & Sisti, D. (2019). Social media, e‐health, and medical ethics. Hastings Center Report, 49(1), 24-33. https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.975

What is Protected Health Information? January 2, 2022. HIPAA Journal. Accessed on July 11, 2022. https://www.hipaajournal.com/what-is-protected-health-information/

Zhou, L., Zhang, D., Yang, C. C., & Wang, Y. (2018). Harnessing social media for health information management. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 27, 139–151.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2017.12.003

Assessment 2 Instructions: Protected Health Information (PHI): Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality Best Practices

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

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

Introduction

As you begin to consider the assessment, it would be an excellent choice to complete the Breach of Protected Health Information (PHI) activity. The activity will support your success with the assessment 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.

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:

  • Meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR).
  • Provision of EHR incentive programs through Medicare and Medicaid.
  • Enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules.
  • 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:

  • Keeping passwords secure.
  • Logging out of public computers.
  • 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.

Health care providers today must develop their skills in mitigating risks to their patients and themselves 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 assessment will require you to develop a staff update for the interprofessional team to encourage team members to protect the privacy, confidentiality, and security of patient information.

Preparation

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

  • Review the infographics on protecting PHI provided in the resources for this assessment, or find other infographics to review. These infographics serve as examples of how to succinctly summarize evidence-based information.
    • 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.
  • Select from any of the following options, or a combination of options, the focus of your interprofessional staff update:
    • Social media best practices.
    • What not to do: social media.
    • Social media risks to patient information.
    • Steps to take if a breach occurs.
  • Conduct independent research on the topic you have selected in addition to reviewing the suggested resources for this assessment. 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.

Instructions

In this assessment, assume you are a nurse in an acute care, community, school, nursing home, or other health care setting. Before your shift begins, you scroll through Facebook and notice that a coworker has posted a photo of herself and a patient on Facebook. The post states, “I am so happy Jane is feeling better. She is just the best patient I’ve ever had, and I am excited that she is on the road to recovery.”

You have recently completed your annual continuing education requirements at work and realize this is a breach of your organization’s social media policy. Your organization requires employees to immediately report such breaches to the privacy officer to ensure the post is removed immediately and that the nurse responsible receives appropriate corrective action.

You follow appropriate organizational protocols and report the breach to the privacy officer. The privacy officer takes swift action to remove the post. Due to the severity of the breach, the organization terminates the nurse.

Based on this incident’s severity, your organization has established a task force with two main goals:

  • Educate staff on HIPAA and appropriate social media use in health care.
  • Prevent confidentiality, security, and privacy breaches.

The task force has been charged with creating a series of interprofessional staff updates on the following topics:

  • Social media best practices.
  • What not to do: Social media.
  • Social media risks to patient information.
  • Steps to take if a breach occurs.

You are asked to select one or more of the topics and create the content for a staff update containing a maximum of two content pages. This assessment is not a traditional essay. It is a staff educational update about PHI. Consider creating a flyer, pamphlet, or one PowerPoint slide (not an entire presentation). Remember it should not be more than two pages (excluding a title and a reference page).

The task force has asked team members assigned to the topics to include the following content in their updates in addition to content on their selected topics:

  • What is protected health information (PHI)?
    • Be sure to include essential HIPAA information.
  • What are privacy, security, and confidentiality?
    • Define and provide examples of privacy, security, and confidentiality concerns related to the use of technology in health care.
    • Explain the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to safeguard sensitive electronic health information.
  • What evidence relating to social media usage and PHI do interprofessional team members need to be aware of? For example:
    • How many nurses have been terminated for inappropriate social media use in the United States?
    • What types of sanctions have health care organizations imposed on interdisciplinary team members who have violated social media policies?
    • What have been the financial penalties assessed against health care organizations for inappropriate social media use?
    • What evidence-based strategies have health care organizations employed to prevent or reduce confidentiality, privacy, and security breaches, particularly related to social media usage?
Notes
  • Your staff update is limited to two double-spaced content pages. Be selective about the content you choose to include in your update so you can meet the page length requirement. Include need-to-know information. Omit nice-to-know information.
  • Many times people do not read staff updates, do not read them carefully, or do not read them to the end. Ensure your staff update piques staff members’ interest, highlights key points, and is easy to read. Avoid overcrowding the update with too much content.
  • Also, supply a separate reference page that includes two or three peer-reviewed and one or two non-peer-reviewed resources (for a total of 3–5 resources) to support the staff update content.
Additional Requirements
  • Written communication: Ensure the staff update is free from errors that detract from the overall message.
  • Submission length: Maximum of two double-spaced content pages.
  • Font and font size: Use Times New Roman, 12-point.
  • Citations and references: Provide a separate reference page that includes 2–3 current, peer-reviewed and 1–2 current, non-peer-reviewed in-text citations and references (total of 3–5 resources) that support the staff update’s content. Current means no older than 5 years.
  • APA format: Be sure your citations and references adhere to APA format. Consult the Evidence and APA page for an APA refresher.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

  • Competency 1: Describe nurses’ and the interdisciplinary team’s role in informatics with a focus on electronic health information and patient care technology to support decision making.
    • Describe the security, privacy, and confidentially laws related to protecting sensitive electronic health information that govern the interdisciplinary team.
    • Explain the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to safeguard sensitive electronic health information.
  • Competency 2: Implement evidence-based strategies to effectively manage protected health information.
    • Identify evidence-based approaches to mitigate risks to patients and health care staff related to sensitive electronic health information.
    • Develop a professional, effective staff update that educates interprofessional team members about protecting the security, privacy, and confidentiality of patient data, particularly as it pertains to social media usage.
  • Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly communication to facilitate use of health information and patient care technologies.
    • Follow APA style and formatting guidelines for citations and references.
    • Create a clear, concise, well-organized, and professional staff update that is generally free from errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.