Since the adoption of digital technologies, healthcare providers have witnessed significant improvements in their operations. They are able to offer care at lower costs and lower the burden that practitioners shouldered. Furthermore, the digital technologies have enhanced collaboration and teamwork among practitioners. However, the technologies used in the management of health records have also presented challenges. Left unresolved, the challenges could compromised the incorporation of health information technology (HIT) into healthcare.
In order to fully understand the impact of HIT on healthcare delivery, it is critical to explore how HIT has reshaped how nurses operate. Nurses have an obligation to take all necessary steps to secure the privacy of patient information. Some of the responsibilities that nurses have include limiting access to the patient information, ensuring that the information is stored and that appropriate security safeguards are in place, and complying fully with the regulations that govern the handling of patient data (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018). It can be said that for the most part, HIT has made it more difficult for nurses to guarantee privacy and the safety of patient information. Today, as part of HIT, healthcare institutions are increasingly relying on portable devices such as smartphones. While they enhance the effectiveness of HIT, these devices create loopholes that can be exploited to breach privacy. Furthermore, HIT can be complex and difficult to understand especially if nurses have not been provided with adequate training.
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As they incorporate HIT into the delivery of care, nurses are often confronted with ethical issues that they must resolve. Some of these issues concern the use of portable devices for storing patient information. Privacy concerns are among these issues. Research shows that the fear of privacy breaches erodes the perceived benefits of HIT (Dimitropoulos et al., 2011). Nurses need to balance between the convenience of portable devices and the risk of privacy violations. Another ethical issue that the nurses face concerns data sharing (Cushman et al., 2010). Nurses may be required to share the information stored on portable devices with such other stakeholders as pharmacists. The data sharing creates opportunities for hackers to steal information, thereby compromising privacy.
I have observed that my organization has implemented measures aimed at promoting safety. These measures include forbidding the use of portable devices, requiring practitioners to provide login credentials before accessing information and creating backups of all the data. Furthermore, the organization has enlisted the services of a digital solutions company which manages the electronic health records system. While I find that all the measures are commendable, I think that there are some areas that require improvement. Practitioner competence is one of these areas. A number of the hospital’s staff lack the skills and knowledge needed to operate the HIT system. To address this issue, I propose that the organization should invest in training. I extend this suggestion to other healthcare providers who wish to enjoy the benefits of HIT without compromising data integrity and patient privacy.
References
Cushman, R., Froomkin, M. A., Cava, A., Abril, P., & Goodman, K. W. (2010). Ethical, legal and social issues for personal health records and applications. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 43 (5), S51-S55.
Dimitropoulos, L., Patel, V., Scheffler, S. A., & Posnack, S. (2011). Public attitudes toward health information exchange: Perceived benefits and concerns. American Journal of Managed Care , 17 , SP111–SP116.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
