Legal and Ethical Issues in Informatics Health, Medicine Essay

Legal and Ethical Issues in Informatics
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Legal and Ethical Issues in Informatics
What is the impact of Internet technology on the security of health-related information?
The internet has undoubtedly transformed the healthcare sector from patient records, diagnosis, and treatment to post-treatment care. However, the benefits of technology in healthcare should be balanced to ensure the safety, security, and privacy of the user is upheld. Transmission of information from in-home sensors and patients records through electronic devices can increase the danger of compromising the patients’ privacy and safety (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017). Also, the use of technology in healthcare has exposed large amounts of electronically stored data to data mining. Form data mining, anonymous individuals may categorize individuals based on age, race, and illnesses and lead to discriminatory and bias effects in healthcare.
What are the implications of the HIPAA as it relates to the protection of health information?
The American Health Insurance PAA refers to a set of rules and regulations that govern how healthcare services are provided and regulate doctors and other healthcare workforce behaviors. The Act aims at transforming the medical billing, medical records, and patient accounts to meet certain standards on how documentation and privacy are handled (Edemekong, Annamaraju & Havdel, 2020). The Act has also transformed how patients access their health records and forward any errors or omissions. They also receive notifications on their privacy, especially when an unauthorized person is trying to access their medical information. The administrative implications’ of HIPPA include the amendment of laws that protect individual medical records and the use or disclosure of electronically stored medical information.
What are some issues related to privacy, security, and confidentiality that the nurse may confront? What are the implications for patient safety?
Privacy, security, and confidentiality are the key components in the quest to safeguard healthcare information. Confidentiality in healthcare refers to the obligation of healthcare providers who have access to patient records to conceal patient information with confidence (McBride et al., 2018). A nurse may be confronted with confidentiality laws if they reveal sensitive health information such as mental health treatment for top politicians. Confidentiality is distinct from privacy in that the latter ensures effective communication between the healthcare provider and the patient. Privacy enhances autonomy, prevents economic harm, embarrassment, and bias. Security offers protection to the privacy of medical information and supports the medical professions in holding confidentiality. Breaches to confidentiality result in severe penalties, especially after the HITECH Act’s final rule and the HIPPA privacy and security regulations to improve healthcare quality.
How does an information system security affect privacy, confidentiality, and security?
Information systems contain intrinsic software that can protect the users and information stored on the personal computers in the health...