Health information is a fundamental piece of data which represents a person, business, organization, or a community. This data is vital in monitoring and coordination of care for individuals and communities. It not only monitors and coordinates patient care, but reduces costly mistakes and prevent duplication of treatments as well as taking a pivotal role in preserving, securing, and protecting personal health information. Since, this information is extremely essential and sensitive, it must remain secure and safe to prevent frauds and cyber-attacks. First of all, this paper discusses vitality of the health information in regards to individuals, professionals, and organizations along with its benefits to improve overall quality of life. Secondly, it discusses the role of information technology in various aspects of the industry and the what the future holds within IT. Health information is an important source of information and evidence when the services provided are communicated in legal and professional documentation. It is a documentation which is a legal requirement and a record of the beneficiary’ care as well as a communication vehicle between other disciplines and providers. It not only ensures the services provided to individuals but is a crucial tool to support reimbursement of services and a basis for research. Incomplete and improper documentation potentially may lead into a denial of payment for services as well as question’s the quality of care provided.
Hence, I believe that the health IT is essential to transform the delivery of health care. Now, America’s health care providers and data users have made a huge improvement in expanding health information technology use. This improvement ensures data user 's safety when they exchange information electronically to one another.
1.1 Identify legislation and codes of practice that relate to handling information in health and socail care
Electronic health information exchange allows doctors, nurses, pharmacists, other health care providers and patients to access and securely share a patient’s vital medical information electronically improving the speed, quality, safety and cost of patient care. In this paper I am going to explain the challenges of exchanging health information, privacy and security concerns, cost of set up and maintenance. Also, the three different types of exchanges. The benefits of health information exchange.
There is no doubt in that technology has multifaceted benefits but, at the same time, it has forced mankind to feel insecure. Every industry depends upon the data of the customers and the health industry is no more an exception here. The data of each patient is shared to facilitate health itself and for more rigorous and authentic research. Hence, protecting patient data is very important. It is so important that in 1996, the federal government introduced the Health Insurance
1. Identify legislation and codes of practice that relate to handling information in health and social care.
Summarise the main points of legal requirements and codes of practice for handling information in health and social care.
As a carer or healthcare provider, some of our obligations are to make sure that information is: utilized reasonably and legally, utilized for restricted, particularly expressed purposes, utilized as a part of a way that is sufficient, applicable and not unnecessary, accurate, kept for no more than is totally fundamental, handled by information insurance rights, kept protected and secure and not exchanged outside the UK without sufficient insurance (Walsh, 2011, p.88).
The electronic protected health information (ePHI) gets electronically stored and collected in hard copy form as they secure the information. According to the U.S. Department of health and Human Service Office for Civil Rights (OCR) report, millions of people have been impacted by HIPAA data breaches. Hence, healthcare organizations must protect and secure personal health data now more than ever because of the threats that are associated with information. This would substantially increase the protection of healthcare from cyber threats. Moreover, these people are extremely diverse and the cleverness of their data information must be organized within hospitals. Medical records are in high demand because of the sophistication of the records.
In today’s cyber environment everything is that the tip of society’s fingertip and healthcare is not the exception. Every organization from hospitals to the local family doctor’s office is realizing the cost savings and convenience of having a medical system in place that can store, track, audit, and maintain a patient’s history. Such technology is mutually beneficial to patients alike since searching for providers becomes much easier when login into a medical portal allows the user to find specialist of all sorts without much hassle.
Health information exchange has become a very important part of today’s health care field. It is used every day, in almost every part of the medical field. Electronic medical records, digital imaging, e-mails, and fax are all used daily. Health information exchange has moved forward the health care field and helped medical professionals give their patients faster, more efficient and safer care day to day. In this paper, you will read about the history of the health information exchange, the benefits, the privacy and security concerns, and the current challenges faced by the workers in the health information field.
Health Information Exchange is a fairly new concept in the healthcare field. There were several precursors to HIE that were in use throughout the United States, these include Community Health Management Information Systems, Community Health Information Networks, and Regional Health Information Organizations. There are several data factors that make up a Health Information Exchange, the Electronic Health Record and the Personal Health Record. One of the biggest concerns about medical information is keeping it safeguarded, and there are three ways to accomplish this, with administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. Finally, there are a number of benefits to having a secure Health Information Exchange. The benefits include; accessibility, wherein multiple users can access the data at the same time, communication, wherein providers can share information quickly with no corruption of critical data, and better healthcare management. By building disease and chronic care registries, symptoms, treatment, and outcomes are tracked. The Health Information Exchange also enables contagious disease and bioterrorism tracking, but reporting symptoms to the CDC daily.
Privacy of health information has become an area of emphasis across the healthcare industry. It is important to understand what data is protected under federal regulations, how it can be shared, and how to prevent any accidental exposure of protected data. It is possible that data that should be protected can be exposed without anyone even realizing a violation has occurred. Exposure of protected healthcare data can result in medical identity theft and is therefore a very important and hot topic. The security and privacy of healthcare data is necessary to ensure consumer confidence in the healthcare industry and to prevent medical identity theft.
Health information technology (HIT) involves trading of health information in an electronic format to advance health care, reduce health expenditures, improve work efficiency, decrease medication errors, and make health care more accessible. Maintaining privacy and security of health information is crucial when technology is involved. Health information exchange plays an important role in improving the quality and delivery of health care and cost-effectiveness. “There is very little electronic information sharing among clinicians, hospitals, and other providers, despite considerable investments in health information technology (IT) over the past five years” (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2014, p. 1).
In light of available security measures and their widespread acceptance within the information security community, there is no excuse for healthcare organizations to fail in fulfilling their duty to protect personal patient information. Guaranteeing the confidentiality and privacy of data in healthcare information is crucial in safeguarding the data of patients as there should be a legal responsibility to protect medical records from unauthorized access.
Twenty first century have been undergone generous technology impacts on people’s life. People have embraced newer things to make life easier and feel secure by adding into their daily life. Social media, mobile, banking, big data technology are revolutions among the modern computer world. Electronic items are reducing their size and weight day by day with less cost. Despite revolutionizing lowest possible accessible technology is in our hand, healthcare systems cost is rising above sky. Although, people are aware of their own healthcare, it took while to explore and have access to health information technology through website or internet securely.