Question

You are the director of health information services in a major medical center that maintains both a psychiatric unit and a substance abuse unit in addition to general medical and surgical units. Your facility plans to join a computer network with fifteen hospitals throughout the state, which will allow online access to laboratory data, regardless of which facility performed the lab work. None of the other fifteen facilities offer psychiatric or substance abuse treatment. Identify and discuss the confidentiality issues present with such a network in the light of the statutory, regulatory, and accrediting requirements governing patients treated in these units.

Answer 1

Answer: Given as a director of health information services. establishment The confidentially issues that can arise with 16 hospitals are of a network connecting the database of of follows: establishes an individuals The regulatory requirement right to opt out the facility directory, or to request restricting to other uses of his or her health information. This restriction will be violated if a network is established Causes one facilities regular reports will be accessed in other facilities easily and providing protection to the information left, in case of patients not willing to share details , will be difficult to handle. • Establishes sequirements for use and disclousure establish a standard to limit the amount of information used or disclosed to the minimem necessasy" to accomplish

the intendend purpose. • The minimum requirement will definitely be impossible to maintain of data will be open and available to a larger audience. setting up a network of hospitals will defy the privacy Act of 1974, which exercise, limited control of the disclosure of that information to other parties. · States may have special privacy requirements for patients tested, diagnosed, or treated for alohol and drug abuse Sexually transmitted diseases, or mental health disorders. • for patients who are getting treated for such disorders, high privacy is maintained to not affect their social • Establishment of a network and sharing information with hospitals that does not have such treatment opportunities means exposing a very confidential data with some who does not have much knowledge about some lie) high risk -02