Regulatory Laws and Policies - Essay Example

? Regulatory Laws and Policies of Regulatory Laws and Policies The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was created by the US government to meet the need for the protection of the health and well being of all Americans. HHS was formerly called Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) until 1979 when an independent Department of Education was formed. HHS acts to implement various rules, regulations and Acts that are enacted to ensure that the health of all citizens is protected (Hoffman, 2007). Through its regulatory role, HHS has had a significant impact and implications on the health care industry in general. Among the acts that are implemented by the HHS include The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA )of 2005 (Frimpong & Rivers, 2009). This essay gives a critical analysis and discussion on the impact of HHS on the health care industry with a special focus on the implication of the aforementioned Acts on health care and patient safety. Illustrations of my own working experience are used to demonstrate how the regulatory framework acts to protect the needs of patients for care and privacy and security of confidential data and information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is a federal legislation or law which gives patients a right to control all forms of Protected Health Information (PHI). In accordance to this Act, PHI represents Individually Identifiable Health Information (IIHI) which is acquired from the patient and stored within the health facility (Furrow, 2011). This also includes all information which related the condition of the patient whether in the past, current or future. This means that before a health care provider accesses, retrieves and uses health information on patients, the provisions of the Act must be given due consideration (Frimpong & Rivers, 2009). In this sense, it is argued that the HIPAA through the implementation of the HHS affects the manner in which hospitals and health care providers and record managers handle patient information. For example in a veteran’s affairs hospital where I work, it is mandatory that a patient signs for the release of information before it can be received or sent for specific purposes. This example demonstrates that the regulatory framework of the HHS defines the policies and procedures that health systems design for the management of information. Health systems and professionals are mandated to adhere to the provisions of the HIPPA. Therefore the right of patients to protect and define the retrieval, use and dissemination of data on them must be respected by care professional. The management of hospitals must also ensure that health care professional adheres to these regulations as provided by the legal system. Among the entities that are covered by the HIPAA include health care providers who are involved in the retrieval, use and transmission of electronic formats of health care information (Hoffman, 2007). Because of this, the HIPPA is said to have a significant effect on the health care industry especially in the transmission of electronic records on patients (Radin, 2010). This Act has become more important within the contemporary health care information management systems which are characterized with an increased implementation and use of information and communication technologies. Health care organizations such as hospitals are mandated to put measures that ensure that electronic health information is safe from unauthorized access and use (Liang & Mackey, 2011). Within the veteran’s affairs hospital where I work, it is a must for all information with private details on the patient such as name to be encrypted before it is sent. This measure or policy was adopted by the hospital to ensure adherence to the HIPPA. Moreover, the insecurities which characterize the modern information systems such as hacking makes it necessary for the hospital to encrypt information with private details of patients so that the information is not misused. Health care professionals who handle patient information must therefore take caution to protect it otherwise they will be liable to take legal responsibility. This is exemplified by a professional in the hospital where I work who took a laptop with a lot of patient data home and lost it to thieves. The professional had to take legal responsibility for this form of negligence. The HHS improves the safety of patient information through the HIPPA (Furrow, 2011). This is through the privacy rule of the HIPPA which postulates that the release of health information must be kept to the minimum as possible (Frimpong & Rivers, 2009). Moreover the privacy rule provided limitations to the release of health information. This affects health care professionals who have access to patient information or those into whom such information was disclosed. During my work experience, I have faced many instances where the release of information that had was limited. For example when the boss of my uncle was having a medical procedure in my hospital, I had to seek the permission of the patient before I would inform my uncle that I had seen his boss in the hospital and he was okay. The privacy rule also limits access to patient information by health care providers (Hoffman, 2007). Health professional are not required to access health records without a justification (Levy, Mareniss, Lacovelli & Howard, 2010). For example in the veteran’s affairs hospital where I work, an employee was admonished for accessing information on a patient who was involved in hospital shooting to check if it was her patient. This happened in the cardiac catheterization lab where I work. This section of the hospital contains very sensitive information. This demonstrates the role of HHS through the HIPPA in protecting the safety of patient information. The United States Department of Health and Human Services also functions to implement The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005. In 2009, a Final Rule was issued by HHS on PSQI which is known as the Patient Safety Rule (Radin, 2010). This rule stipulates for reporting of patient information to Patient Safety Organizations (PSO) with a view of protecting the safety of patients. The PSQI has significant on health systems and hospitals. For example health institutions are not mandated to get approval from the Institutional Review Board Before they would provide or obtain health care data to or from PSOs (Liang & Mackey, 2011). This is the case as long as this information is aimed at improving the quality of activities of patient care. Nonetheless, health care systems are mandated to provide patient identified data to PSOs as they require (Furrow, 2011). The federal activities of the PSOs as provided within the PSQI Act include quality improvement (Levy, Mareniss, Lacovelli & Howard, 2010). Quality improvement activities have significant impacts on health care systems. For example the American Medical Association (AMA) is committed to improving the quality of care as provided by the Act. This is achieved through support for innovative endeavors and efforts which are geared towards the provision of cost effective and high quality care to patients (Radin, 2010). Therefore through the activities of PSOs, health care facilities and physicians are monitored to ensure that they play their responsibilities and roles in providing quality care to all patients at a cost effective price (Liang & Mackey, 2011). Moreover the activities of the PSOs such as the AMA acts to promote developmental activities of health care professionals. This includes training programs during which physicians are allowed to acquire more knowledge and skills which will make them suited to provide high quality care to patients. In return, the safety of patients as advocated by the PSQI Act is guaranteed. In the light of the above discussion and illustrations, it is conclusive that The United States Department of Health and Human Services plays a significant role in promoting health care and the patient well being and care. The HHS achieves this through the implementation of various regulations and Acts which are designed to enhance the quality of care and safety of patients. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 have specifically been described in this paper in the light of privacy of patient information and patient safety respectively. The HIPPA acts to ensure that the collection, creation, retrieval and use of patient data are regulated to preserve the rights of patients for confidentiality. The PSQI Act on the other hand through the Patient Safety Rule provides for the activities of Patient Safety Organizations such as the American Medical Association in promoting patient safety. The provisions of different regulations and their implementation by the HHS have therefore had significant effects on health care systems as described within this essay. References Frimpong, J. A., & Rivers, P. A. (2009). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: Blessing or Curse? Journal of Health Care Finance, 33(1), 31-39. Furrow, B. R. (2011). Regulating Patient Safety: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. University Of Pennsylvania Law Review, 159(6), 1727-1775. Hoffman, S. (2007). Addressing Privacy Concerns through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule. American Journal of Bioethics, 7(3), 48-49. Levy, F., Mareniss, D., Iacovelli, C., & Howard, J. (2010). The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005. Journal of Legal Medicine, 31(4), 397-422 Liang, B. A., & Mackey, T. (2011). Quality and Safety in Medical Care: What Does the Future Hold?. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 135(11), 1425-1431. Radin, B. A. (2010). When is a Health Department not a Health Department? The Case of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Social Policy & Administration, 44(2), 142-154 Read More