HCM337-0704B-01 Current Legal, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues in H - Phase 1 Discussion Board 2 - Essay Example

The health industry provides services to people regarding there most intimate and private matters. The medical condition is a sensitive topic that has to be handled with great care and in private confidential manner. There are laws and regulation that protect the medical information of a patient in a health facility which is log and written on a patients medical record. A medical record is a chronological written account of a person’s examination and treatment which includes details such as the patient’s medical history, complaints, physician’s findings and diagnostic test and procedures (Medical-dictionary, 2007).

This paper describes the different laws and regulation concerning treatment and handle of patient’s medical records. There are various agencies, regulation and laws from the governmental and private sector that protect the integrity and privacy of medical records. The HIPPA regulation is a statute that protects the medical information of patients. HIPPA establishes a minimum standard for care of medical information which requires covered entities to evaluate their practices and enhance safeguards as needed in hospital settings to limit unnecessary or inappropriate access to and disclosure of protected health information (Hss, 2003).

An organization that protects and regulates the handle of medical records of patients is AHIMA. The AHIMA is non-profit organization founded in 1928 dedicated to helping protect the health care information of people by provided professionals in the field with guidelines on how to realize the critical function of protecting medical record information (Myphr, 2007).Health care facilities provide patients with a document called the Noticy of Privacy Practice. This document tells the patient in how the medical record information of the patient will be utilized by the health care facility (Myphr, 2007).

Patient’s right to have access to their medical records is protected by the Access to Medical Reports Act of 1988 (AMRA). The AMRA gives the right to the patient of obtaining their medical record for employment and insurance purposes. The person applying for the medical record must signed off a consent form before the information is released according to AMRA (Legalandgeneral, 2007). The Civil Rights and Liberty Union is an organization that is a supporter of medical rights privacy. The organization is a supporter, protector and representative voice of citizens which fight on a political level in congress to protect the privacy of medical records of US citizens (Alcu, 2001).

A medical record is a piece of information that must be protected to ensure a person’s privacy is kept confidential. In the United States there are laws protecting and setting guidelines to ensure medical record information is handled properly. Two of the regulation that protect medical records are the AMRA and HIPPA regulations. Organization such as the American Rights and Liberty Union and the AHIMA are fighting to protect medical record against threats such as electronic medical records which put at jeopardy the individual right of privacy regarding a person’s medical condition and treatment.

ReferencesAlcu.org (2001). Memorandom on Medical Records Privacy. Retrieved December 3, 2007 from http://www.aclu.org/privacy/medical/15088leg20010307.htmlHss.gov (2003). News and information. Retrieved November 26, 2007 from http://www.hhs.gov/ Legalandgeneral.com (2007). Access to Medical Reports Act 1988. Retrieved December 3, 2007 from http://www.legalandgeneral.com/advisercentre/MedicalUnderwriting/Information/Legislationandregulation/AccesstoMedicalRecordsAct1988AMRA/page3938.htmlMedical-dictionary.com (2007).

Medical Records. Retrieved December 3, 2007 from http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/medical+record Myphr.com (2007). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved December 3, 2007 from http://www.myphr.com/faqs/index.asp#6