The privacy of patient information is crucial in the provision of quality healthcare and the establishment of patient confidence in the system. The nurses, government, vendors, and stakeholders are involved in collaborative efforts to promote the security of patient information. Nurses participate in the protection of client health information through participation in the development of policies and technologies used in recording patient data. Their education and expertise are also important to the process. Policies such as privacy, consent, and log audit assist in the establishment of patient safety. The safety process is made a reality through management systems that focus on managing patient information towards safety.
The Nurses' Role in Protecting Client Health Information
Nurses contribute to the development of technologies for keeping patients' health records. The development of information technology (IT) for keeping patient records involves the nurses, committees, and IT experts (Lavin, Harper & Barr, 2015). Nurses are the end-users of Electronic Health Record (EHR) technologies. Their feedback is adopted in assessing the effectiveness of the EHR systems. The challenges faced by nurses in recording and retrieving data are direct feedback on the effectiveness of the systems. Therefore, an effective EHR system can be described as one that is simple to operate: secure in information storage and access. For instance, the Nursing Practice Committee (NPC) of the Missouri Nurses Association (MONA) is actively involved in providing a platform for nurses to mention their challenges with EHR systems.
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Besides providing feedback on its efficiency, the nurses are represented in the decision-making process of the systems. Participation in the decision-making process generates incite on the details that should be included (Lavin, Harper & Barr, 2015). It also ensures that nurses' concerns are pronounced and technologies are developed that motivate nurses to work. The collective action of the nurses prompts vendors to consider their views in their designs. Nurses have to appreciate this role and compel themselves to be active rather than wait for power to be granted them.
The safety of the patient’s records depends on the nurses’ ability to operate the technologies efficiently and effectively. Any error in operation could result in loss of information, exposure to cybercrimes, or other threats to the patient. Therefore, nurses must contribute to the safety of the records by being acquainted with informatics education (Lavin, Harper & Barr, 2015). The nurses require education on how to record, store, retrieve, and protect patient information. Curriculums on the use of EHR systems are available in nursing institutions to provide the needed education. Each nurse should make it their responsibility to be informed on the latest EHR technologies and their use.
Health Security Policies Influencing the Nurse's Role in Maintaining Protection
Consent Management Policies govern access to patient information. The collection of health information in medication or research purposes is constrained by polices restricting unlimited sharing of information (Porsdam Mann, Savulescu & Sahakian, 2016). The policy is necessary because the collector protects the information and must ensure its confidentiality. It is risky to share health information as they may result in discrimination of the patient. The collection and release of health information in EHR systems are acceptable only under the consent of the person whose data is to be accessed, transferred, or shared.
The logging and auditing policy regulates the management of patient information. The government, through the Health Information Portability and Accountability of 1996 act and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, has placed a mandatory policy for the maintenance and evaluation of employee logs into the EHR systems (Hedda, Malin, Yan & Fabbri, 2017). Hospitals are expected to analyze the logs and report cases of misuse of patient's health records. The analysis is accomplished through the engagement of administrative officers who audit the reports. EHR systems have been improved to include automatic log monitoring applications. The system stores information when a patient's information is accessed by detailing the user, patient, and action (Hedda, Malin, Yan & Fabbri, 2017).
The Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems provide easy access and circulation of patient information. Health facilities can retrieve and use patient information immediately. The system enables the maintenance of consistency in patient information. However, the applications are exposed to breaches that may expose a patient's private information. To guard against such eventualities, privacy policies have been instituted to protect against careless use and transfer of patient information within the EMR systems (Sher, Talley, Yang & Kuo, 2017). The privacy policy safeguards patient’s data as the EMR systems are accessed by many users threatening the safety of the information.
The Need for Information Management Directed Toward Client Safety
Health information is proven to improve medical care hence better health quality. The platform has resulted in the prevention of medical errors and compliance with regulations such as privacy of patient's information ( Alotaibi & Federico, 2017 ). The risks associated with the management of patient records and the huge amount of information necessitates the need for information management toward client safety.
Balestra (2017) notes that patients accessing health care services in facilities with advanced EHR system were 15% less likely to die. The statistics were arrived at after comparison of patient mortality rates in facilities with advanced EHR systems unlike those with outdated ones. The statistical result emphasizes the need for managing patient information. The study also revealed that facilities with EHR systems operated at cost-effective margins and had high efficiency in service delivery. However, there is an additional need to ensure that the information is secured. The benefits of the EHR system could be easily reversed with poor management systems that expose patient information to external threats.
The use of EHR is impacted by challenges in the establishment of an effective team and costs. The system requires a highly specialized team to manage its operations (Alpert, 2016). Developing such a team is costly and limited, especially when older practitioners lack the speed and agility to master technology. Besides, the establishment of the system requires several years, approximately six years, to recoup the benefits. The high costs in its installment may slow down its implementation and management. Despite the challenges, the advancement in IT and the benefits of the EHR system makes it indispensable. Facilities can seek support from credible firms that collect and manage patient data to assist in the provision of security to patient information.
How Policy Affects Health Care Protection
Health care Policies, established by the government and agencies in the private and public sector, create guidelines for ethical practice in healthcare. The practitioner understands their professional role and ethical codes of conduct guiding nursing. Professional codes of conducts regulate how practitioners use their position. Besides that, Policies provide additional restrain and window for legal prosecutions against unacceptable conducts ( Balestra, 2017 ).
EHR systems generate high risks of a patient information breach. Balestra (2017) identifies that the risk is high in EHR systems as compared to paper-medical records. The introduction of policies and other regulatory frameworks such as ethics and legal suits increases vigilance, which inspires commitment to protecting patient information.
Conclusion
The government and healthcare institutions have a great interest in ensuring the privacy of patient information. The use of technology to store and retrieve patient data creates the possibility of infringement on patients' privacy. Policies and management systems, in collaboration with ethical and legal frameworks, have been instituted to ensure the safety of patient information. Security levels should be adjusted to eliminate cases of wrong access and use of patient information.
References
Alotaibi, Y. K. & Federico, F. (2017). The impact of health information technology on patient safety. Saudi Medical Journal, 38 (12): 1173.
Alpert, J. S. (2016). The electronic medical record in 2016: Advantages and disadvantages . Digital Medicine, 2 (2): 48.
Balestra, M. L. (2017). Electronic health records: patient care and ethical and legal implications for nurse practitioners. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 13 (2): 105-111.
Hedda, M., Malin, B. A., Yan, C., & Fabbri, D. (2017). Evaluating the effectiveness of auditing rules for electronic health record systems. In AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings (Vol. 2017, p. 866). American Medical Informatics Association.
Lavin, M. A., Harper, E., & Barr, N. (2015). Health information technology, patient safety, and professional nursing care documentation in acute care settings. Online Journal Issues Nurses, 20 (2).
Porsdam Mann, S., Savulescu, J., & Sahakian, B. J. (2016). Facilitating the ethical use of health data for the benefit of society: electronic health records, consent, and the duty of easy rescue. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 374 (2083), 20160130.
Sher, M. L., Talley, P. C., Yang, C. W., & Kuo, K. M. (2017). Compliance with electronic medical records privacy policy: An empirical investigation of hospital information technology staff. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 54 , 0046958017711759.
