Internet Sharing of Files, and HIPAA Regulations - Research Paper Example

Internet Sharing of Files, and HIPAA RegulationsIntroductionMedical laws play a significant role in guiding medical facility procedures and the manner in which healthcare personnel care for patients. The contemporary society is litigious; where patients, relatives, and others may sue healthcare practitioners, healthcare facilities, or manufactures of medical equipments and products in the event that medical outcomes are not acceptable (McWay, 2010). Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), which play a critical role in the diagnosis process, are designed to enable physicians to access digital images emanating from diagnostic tests or analysis, concurrently from numerous sites.

Physicians have a legal obligation to keep patient information, such as data contained in PACS confidential (Cao, Huang & Zhou, 2003). Legal issues and resolutions surrounding internet sharing of files, HIPAA, and PACS revolve around safeguarding data Privacy and Security.Legal Issues and Resolutions surrounding HIPAA RegulationsHealthcare institutions bear an obligation of taking appropriate measures to guarantee that patient information is availed to persons who have professional need. Some of issues essential to adhering to HIPAA requirements include restricting access, tracking access, protecting data security, confidentiality, and integrity and sustaining data chain-of-control (Lyer, Levin & Shea, 2006).

HIPAA Privacy RuleHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) standards for privacy of individually Identifiable Health Information avail a comprehensive federal protection for the confidentiality of health information. The Privacy Rule pursues strong privacy protections that do not interfere with patient’s access to healthcare. The Act gives patients more control over their health information, outlines boundaries on the application and release of healthcare records, and avails appropriate safeguards that healthcare providers must attain so as to safeguard the privacy of health information (McWay, 2010).

The bedrock of HIPAA Privacy Rule is the protection, use, and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI). Under HIPAA, patients have an enhanced awareness of their health information privacy rights.HIPAA Security RuleThe Security Rule outlines means of protecting patient information on computer networks, over the internet, disks and other storage media, and extranets. The safeguards pursue protection against dangers for breaches of confidentiality. The Security Rule mandates medical facilities to implement audit controls, so as to record and vet staff accessing information systems containing PHI (Lyer, Levin & Shea, 2006).

Medical facilities should also establish policies and procedures that oversee access to electronic PHI. All healthcare practitioners are responsible for adhering to HIPAA privacy and security regulations so as to guarantee that PHI is secured and confidential (Cao, Huang & Zhou, 2003). In the event of abuse of PHI or a violation of confidentiality, the medical facility can attract substantial penalties or even imprisonment of some staff.Sharing Patient InformationWhen sharing patient information, HIPAA allows healthcare practitioners to use healthcare information for Treatment, Payment, and Operations (TPO).

In the event that the use of patient information does not align with TPO, written authorization must be attained before sharing information with anyone. However, patient information may be disclosed devoid of authorization to parties such as medical researchers, law enforcement, correctional institutions, and emergencies (McWay, 2010). ConclusionConsequences of not complying with the HIPAA laws and regulations may encompass sanctions, financial penalties, and potential imprisonment. As a result, organizations should establish internal governance rules in order to minimize the probability of legal exposure.

To accomplish this, there is a need to guarantee that PHI data transfer, retrieval, and storage processes are defined, followed, and auditable. Hence, the maintenance of data integrity as it is moved across networks or systems is paramount.ReferencesCao, F., Huang, H. & Zhou, X. (2003). Medical image security in a HIPAA mandated PACS environment. Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics, 27 (1), 185-196. Lyer, P., Levin, B. & Shea, M. (2006). Medical legal aspects of medical records. Tucson, AZ: Lawyers & Judges. McWay, D. (2010).

Legal and ethical aspects of health information management. New York, NY: Delmar.