Information Technology in Healthcare

Information Technology in Healthcare

Need for Investment in Healthcare Information Security

Healthcare department has adopted digital patient records, advanced regulation, and consolidation of supplier which demands an improved information security system. The need for investment is a necessity to increase confidentiality, integrity, authorization and privacy of an individual and to limit the access of personal information related to healthcare. However, in implementing IT security, there must be a balance of three factors; risk, cost and usability of the organization.

Key Issues That Must Be Balanced So That Information Security Provides Patient Care and Privacy

The key issues that must be balanced so that Information Security provides patient care and privacy while revolutionize healthcare delivery are;

Who owns the data?

This defines the person who holds the authority of deleting, editing and adding of information in health data in the records along with enforce regulations adjoining it (Meingast et al., 2006).

Where should the health data be stored?

There should be a clear view whether all the data, that used to be stored in patient's paper based record, should also be stored in Electronic Patient Record (ERP) (Meingast et al., 2006).

Who can view a patient's medical record?

This defines the authorized individuals that are allowed to view the confidential data of a patient. There are different limits of viewing for different individuals, which should be clearly defined (Meingast et al., 2006).

Examples of Areas Where Health Care Processes could / should be Automated

Some of the key areas that should be automated to improve the performance are; electronic data records patient monitoring and decision making system. Currently, Electronic Patients Record (EPR) is a system used for electronic data recording. With the use of sensor networks, In-home Remote Patient Monitoring has become a reality (Meingast et al., 2006).

Decisions That Test the Boundaries between Legal and Ethical Decision-Making

There are certain decisions that test the boundaries between legal and ethical decision-making. This is because legal and ethical decision making runs side by side. Here are some of the issues;

Equal Opportunity

The provision of equal opportunity to in hiring, promotion or dealing with the patients is both, a legal and an ethical issue (Markgraf, 2011). If a manager or a recruiter uses reference in hiring or patient dealing, it is ethical as well as illegal.

Fairness

Fair treatment is necessary in a healthcare setting. Unfair treatment may lead to legal implications, but would always be considered unethical.

Feedback on the Value of HIPAA

HIPAA stands ...