Confidential medical information and parties who should have access to medical records - Research Paper Example

? (Insert personal address) August 6, (Insert s address) al Review Board Request for permission to conduct a research on the topic: ‘Confidential medical information and parties who should have access to medical records: An empirical study’ Background information Significance of confidentiality of healthcare information has increased with dynamism in the health care sector. Approaches to care provision, incorporating third parties such as information technology assistants, and integration of information systems for centralized data access are some of the challenges that have threatened data access to third parties within healthcare facilities and outside the facilities (Talbott and Hales 145, 146). Electronic health record systems, though identified with advantages of improved efficiencies in care provisions, and recommended by legal provisions, establishes diversified challenges to confidentiality. Specialization among care personnel and the need to transfer patients from one personnel or care department to another is one of the causes of confidentiality challenges because data may be compromised along the chain with difficulty in managing such proliferation (Mermelstein and Wallack 97- 103). An assessment of implementation of electronic health records in health care facilities supports the position that despite the system’s benefits that both care personnel and patients appreciate, cases of information sharing is popular among care personnel. While data systems allowed for physician’s freedom to maintain privacy of patients’ information as their personal notes, most physicians preferred incorporating their patients’ information in medical records (Beverly et al. 22-25). The issue of confidentiality in health care further goes beyond legal scope because of the profession’s nature and traditions. Even though legal provisions, through privacy laws, limits disclosure of patients’ identifiable information to the patients’ permission, health care personnel in a facility enjoys access of patients’ data. This therefore leaves regulation of confidentiality to ethical provisions whose implementation is not as effective as implementation of legal provisions (University of Illinois 1). Confidentiality breach is therefore imminent under the current regulatory measures and the threat has possible consequences such as patients’ forfeiture of sensitive health care services for fear of breach of confidentiality (Slive and Cramer 348). Problem statement Significant knowledge exists on the role of health care information systems such as medical records and their consequences on patients’ information. Existing studies further identifies popularity of the emerging information systems despite their weaknesses as tools towards confidentiality breach and ineffectiveness of regulatory measures in ensuring confidentiality. Limited studies have however been conducted on strategies for ensuring confidentiality of medical data. The literature review therefore identifies the need to develop a model for ensuring confidentiality of patients’ information, at care personnel level. Aims The study’s core objective is to develop a psychological model for ensuring confidentiality of patients’ health information. The following aims explore the objective. 1. To determine patient medical information that should be considered confidential 2. T determine the right people to access the confidential medical information Research questions The proposed study will investigate the following research questions 1. What medical information should be held confidential and why? 2. Who should have access to patients’ confidential information? 3. What are some of ethical issues concerning confidentiality of medical information? Methodology Research method and research design The study proposes quantitative research method with a non-experimental design. Survey techniques will be used in data collection. Sampling Stratified random sampling approach will be used to select research participants. Classification by profession will form strata basis the sample size distributed proportionately according to population variability by profession. Fifteen participants will be used with 12 doctors, 8 opticians, 1 licensed aid dispenser, and 54 other employees. The sampling strategy has advantages of a representative sample besides its ability to eliminate sampling bias. Sample size determination was influenced by a review of determined sample sizes in previous health care research initiatives (Denise and Beck 180, 181). Data collection procedure The data collection instrument will be subjected to institution review board for ethical approval. Direct contact will then be made with selected research participants, scope of the research explained to them, and their informed consent sought. Appointment will then be made for the interviews. Research participants Employees from ophthalmology, with branches in South Coast Massachusetts and Rhode Island will form the study’s participants. The population consists of 4 doctors, and 7 employees among whom are 3 licensed opticians and 1 hearing aid dispenser. Participants will be sampled from the population and primary data collected through surveys. Instrumentation The study will implement surveys in data collection. The survey questionnaires will be written with questions on the participants’ perspective on the types of medical information that should be confidential, the types of personnel who should be granted access to identified confidential information and involved ethical issues. The researcher will however guide the participants in completing the interview questions. Advantages of the data collection tool such as high level of reliability and validity besides its ability to promote learning within the data collection process influenced its selection over other data collection tools. Rigidity of the instrument has however been criticized to limit rapport between the researcher and participants but this limitation is manageable because the research will be conducted among peers (Hersen 125). Reliability and validity of data collection instruments Structured survey questionnaires, according to Dorney and Taguchi, are reliable and valid instruments for data collection, as they reduce “yield scores of adequate reliability and validity” (93). The instrument’s validity and reliability can further be enhanced through a pilot study. Data analysis Collected data will be coded into quantitative values and descriptive statistics used for data analysis. Ethical issues The study ensures ethical compliance through submissions to institutional review board and consideration of ethical doctrines of informed consent, beneficence, non-malfeasance, and autonomy in the development and implementation stages of the methodology. Documentation of the study’s findings will also ensure anonymity. Letter for inviting participants’ involvement, also submitted, informed them of the scope of the study, and specified that consent was voluntary (Rice, Fetzer and Long 63). Conclusion The proposed research methodology will therefore ensure a feasible, reliable, valid, and ethical study because of the involved ethical principles and suitable selection of research design, sampling strategy, data collection instruments. Works cited Beverly, Smolyansky, et al. “Confidentiality and electronic medical records for behavioral health records: The experience of pediatric psychologists at four children’s hospitals.” Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology 1.1 (2013); 18-27. Print. Denise, Polit, and Beck, Cheryl. Essentials of nursing research: Appraising evidence for nursing practice. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2013. Print. Dorney, Zoltan, and Taguchi, Tatsuya. Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing. New York, NY: Routledge, 2009. Print. Hersen, Michel. Clinician’s handbook of adult behavioral assessment. Burlington, MA: GulfProfessional Publishing, 2011. Print. Mermelstein, Hindi, and Wallack, Joel. “Confidentiality in the age of HIPPA: A challenge for psychosomatic medicine.” Psychosomatics 49.2 (2011); 97- 103. Print. Rice, Raelene, Fetzer, Shippee, and Long, Jenifer. Gerioperative nursing care: Principles and practices of surgical care for older adult. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company, 2012. Print. Slive, Lauren, and Cramer, Ryan. “Health reform and the preservation of confidential health care for young adults.” Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 40 (2012); 383-390. Talbott, John, and Hales, Robert. Textbook of administrative psychiatry: New concepts for changing behavioral health system. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Pub, 2008. Print. University of Illinois. “Confidentiality and duty to report.” University of Illinois. N.d. web. July 25, 2013. . Read More