Protected Health Information (PHI)
PHI refers to any identifiable health information created, received, or maintained by a healthcare professional, health plan, nurses, or healthcare clearinghouse. Electronic health information is crucial for nurses to provide continuous care, enhance communication and collaboration, ensure accurate documentation, promote patient safety, and contribute to data analysis and research. Nurses must handle this information responsibly to maintain confidentiality and protect PHI, even on social media (Aguirre et al., 2019). Protected Health Information: NURS FPX 4040 Assessment 2 Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality Best Practices
Security, Privacy, and Confidentiality
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a comprehensive law that protects sensitive electronic health information in healthcare. It ensures confidentiality, integrity, and availability of individually identifiable health information while enabling its exchange within the interdisciplinary healthcare team. HIPAA establishes privacy and security standards, grants patient rights, and imposes obligations on healthcare providers. Nurses must handle PHI responsibly, access it only as needed, and promote communication and collaboration (Edemekong et al., 2022).
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Interdisciplinary collaboration enables comprehensive patient care by leveraging the expertise of healthcare professionals from different disciplines. Collaboratively, they ensure accurate documentation, secure transmission, and appropriate use of information (Carney et al., 2019). Interdisciplinary teams develop and implement robust privacy and security measures, preventing unauthorized access and data breaches. Compliance with HIPAA is facilitated through the collaborative alignment of practices and procedures. Continuous improvement and learning occur as teams share best practices and adapt to evolving technologies and threats (Seh et al., 2020).
Evidence-Based Approaches to Mitigate Risks
Electronic health information includes risks that are mitigated by using EBP approaches. Some important points in this context are:
NURS FPX 4040 Assessment 2 Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality Best Practices
- strict access controls,
- encryption, regular security assessments,
- employee training,
- incident response planning,
- software updates, and
- secure mobile device management.
These measures aim to limit unauthorized access, protect data, identify vulnerabilities, promote security awareness, respond to incidents, and maintain system integrity in healthcare settings (Lord, 2020).
Staff Update to Educate Inter professional Staff Members
We want to emphasize the importance of protecting patient data on social media. Patient information is confidential and should never be shared or discussed on these platforms. Maintaining patient privacy is crucial by refraining from posting details, case discussions, or identifying images. To minimize risks, please maintain separate personal and professional social media accounts. Think critically before posting anything, as seemingly innocent posts can compromise patient privacy (Tariq & Hackert, 2019). Remember that digital footprints are lasting, and everything posted online may become public. Report any privacy breaches promptly and foster a culture of accountability. Stay informed about social media best practices and our organization’s policies to ensure patient data protection.
References
Aguirre, R. R., Suarez, O., Fuentes, M., & Sanchez-Gonzalez, M. A. (2019). Electronic health record implementation: A review of resources and tools. Cureus, 11(9).
https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.5649
Carney, P. A., Thayer, E. K., Palmer, R., Galper, A. B., Zierler, B., & Eiff, M. P. (2019). The benefits of interprofessional learning and teamwork in primary care ambulatory training settings. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice, 15(15), 119–126.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2019.03.011
Edemekong, P. F., Haydel, M. J., & Annamaraju, P. (2022, February 3). Health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA). Nih.gov; StatPearls Publishing.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK500019/
Lord, N. (2020, November 17). Healthcare Cybersecurity: Tips for securing private health data. Digital Guardian.
https://www.digitalguardian.com/blog/healthcare-cybersecurity-tips-securing-private-health-data
Seh, A. H., Zarour, M., Alenezi, M., Sarkar, A. K., Agrawal, A., Kumar, R., & Khan, R. A. (2020). Healthcare data breaches: Insights and implications. Healthcare, 8(2), 133. NCBI.
https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8020133
Tariq, R. A., & Hackert, P. B. (2019). Patient confidentiality. Nih.gov; StatPearls Publishing.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519540/