The Healthcare sector is fast adopting technology to assist in improving care delivery while lowering costs. However, it may harm the privacy of health information. Have you ever come across a post on social media platforms from a medical practitioner that includes the patient’s information? That person is violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). HIPAA protects the employees’ health insurance when they lose their jobs. However, it has provisions that ensure the privacy and confidentiality of recognizable health information (Tovino, 2016). It requires the protection of sensitive patient health information from disclosure without the patient’s consent. Therefore posting pictures on media platforms with patient’s information violates the act. This paper focuses on discussing the outcome of HIPAA violation when the client’s data is exposed to the media like in the case scenario.
HIPAA, Legal and Regulatory Guidelines
This section will provide evidence on the impact of technology on nursing care related to patient privacy and HIPAA standards, healthcare regulations, and legal guidelines on the appropriate use of technology concerning the case scenario.
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Patient Privacy and HIPAA Regulations
Technology in nursing care is imperative as it leads to improved patient outcomes and efficiency in healthcare delivery (Moore & Frye, 2019) . However, it affects patient privacy and HIPAA standards in that keeping data safe and secure become an essential part of trust when enhancing compliance with the rules. In the current world, full of hackers, finding ways to protect health information is a priority. Operating on a secure network also becomes essential to maintain compliance with patient privacy and the regulations. Therefore keeping the patient’s data private was mandatory for the nurse in the case scenario. It violated the HIPAA standards.
Besides, all methods of transmitting health information either by email, private cloud, and internet should ensure security. Research shows that encryption of data is essential so that in case of a breach, data acquired cannot be read by unauthorized users (Moore & Frye, 2019) . It also requires monitoring the authorized users to ensure they do not leak patient information to a third party. HIPAA aims at safeguarding people, information, technology, and facilities that health practitioners use to provide secure patient care. Therefore sharing patient information on social media is a violation of the standards. The use of appropriate technology also enhances compliance.
Healthcare Regulations
Technology impacts nursing care concerning healthcare regulations in that healthcare professionals are required to use technology concerning patient privacy and confidentiality. There are also regulations against leaking confidential information. They govern the permitted use of patient information by the entities. They require the clinical photographs and articles that have the information regarding a patient be removed before posting. Breaching privacy exposes the healthcare entities to liability under the healthcare rules (Tovino, 2016). The use of social media to broadcast patient information presents risks under healthcare regulations. Therefore an individual breaches the rules by posting information such as names and room numbers on the social networking sites without a patient's consent. Some institutions require signing a HIPAA authorization before posting medical facilities photographs.
Legal Guidelines on the Appropriate Use of Technology
The use of technology has led to the introduction of legal complexities regarding its use. Constitution has provisions for the right to privacy about the use of social media. The legal guidelines on the appropriate use of technology in healthcare stipulate that security measures should be taken to avoid a breach of patient privacy when using technology (Sobelman & Santopietro, 2018) . Healthcare organizations are required to establish policies that include disciplinary actions in response to the employees' use of mobile devices and social media. Breaching the set guidelines leads to the violation of the federal and state laws that may result in civil and criminal charges. The act also attracts a penalty either in the form of warning, fines, and even sentencing.
Scenario Ending and Recommendations
The outcome of posting photographs with patient's information like in the case scenario leads to the occurrence of HIPAA violation, and the client's data is exposed. The nurse in the case study took photos of the facility, which had a patient's names and room numbers; therefore, a breach occurred. Under HIPAA regulation, a violation occurs by disclosing information under the Privacy Rule, which entails the security of protected health information (Tovino, 2016) . HIPAA also prohibits the use of identifiable health information on social media platforms. Even though the nurse acted in good faith to help the facility acquires resources, they are liable to breach of privacy.
As the case evolved, the healthcare providers investigated if the action led to HIPAA privacy breach with a review of the facility's internal policies. They then engage in mitigating the effects of the violation by first pulling down the photographs to prevent further damage (Toviono, 2016). The policies are also reviewed. The healthcare providers then notify the patient’s whose names and rooms were revealed about the issue. They then inform them of the kind of information that was disclosed within 60 days. The providers liaise with the human resource manager to determine the kind of penalty applicable to the healthcare provider for breaching the regulations. All the efforts should be documented. They should also inform those affected by the progress of the case.
In mitigating the HIPAA violation that led to the client data exposure on social media, the healthcare provider who shared the photographs should have cross-checked the photographs to ensure there is no patient information. The Human Resource Manager should develop clear policies that cover social media to ensure everyone complies. They should also ensure that the employees know how HIPAA relates to social media use (Tovino, 2016). The knowledge will enable them to understand the guidelines and consequences of violating HIPAA. Besides, past studies show that training the employees on the rules of HIPAA eliminates cases of violation (Sobelman & Santopietro, 2018) . The health care providers should also be trained on the regulations regarding the privacy of patient's information.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Technology allows for accessible communication. The emails and smartphones are used to share the information, which may be vital in ensuring the patients' wellbeing. They are essential in places where there are not enough facilities. Technology may also be used in places where there are no facilities. It helps reach a wide range of audiences when the health care provider wants to reach most people (Sobelman & Santopietro, 2018) . Technology may also be used by healthcare providers to issue health information to the community. The use of social media is beneficial in times of crisis as it ensures the exchange of information.
There is a risk of using technology in healthcare. When using personal devices, there is a higher chance of an organization's HIPAA breaches. The users are likely to post information they have on the phones on social media or discuss it with a third party. There is also a limited ability to enforce authentication and protect the devices from getting lost (Sobelman & Santopietro, 2018) . Besides, there is a violation of patients' confidentiality, which has severe consequences. The misuse of social media may lead to long-lasting implications. Healthcare providers may make a mistake that jeopardizes the patient's privacy.
Professional and Ethical Principles on Appropriate Use of Technology in Healthcare
Nurses must adhere to ethical principles that include autonomy. Patients should be allowed to decide on the type of technology being used on them without coercion. The techniques should be used relatively among patients (Sobelman & Santopietro, 2018) . It should be done through a fair distribution of the resources while maintaining their rights. Beneficence requires the nurses to continually gain training in the use of technology to ensure it is used for the good of the patient. The non-maleficence principle should also guide the nurses in using technology as they avoid harming the patient.
In the use of technology, nurses should protect the patient’s interests and maintain integrity. When using technology, the nurses are supposed to discharge all the activities while maintaining honesty (Pauws et al., 2019). They should also keep the confidentiality of the patients' information. They are also required to ensure patient privacy.
Conclusion
By completing the assignment, how the HIPAA is violated was learned. The HIPAA privacy rule is breached when one exposes identifiable health information to other parties. The consequences of the violation include penalty, fines, and suspension. The ethical principles governing the appropriate use of technology include autonomy, beneficence, maleficence, and justice. Health care providers are required to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of patients. The knowledge will impact future behavior as a healthcare professional as it will help in maintaining HIPAA compliance. It will also help ensure the appropriate use of technology in healthcare while ensuring that the professional and ethical principles are observed.
References
Moore, W., & Frye, S. (2019). Review of HIPAA, part 1: history, protected health information, and privacy and security rules. Journal of nuclear medicine technology , 47 (4), 269-272. http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/47/4/269.short
Pauws, S., Gatt, A., Krahmer, E., & Reiter, E. (2019). Making effective use of healthcare data using data-to-text technology. In Data Science for Healthcare (pp. 119-145). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-05249-2_4
Sobelman, S. A., & Santopietro, J. M. (2018). Managing risk: Aligning technology use with the law, ethics codes, and practice standards. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000085-002
Tovino, S. A. (2016). The HIPAA Privacy Rule and the EU GDPR: illustrative comparisons. Seton Hall L. Rev. , 47 , 973. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/shlr47&div=36&id=&page =
