Jennifer walks behind Sloan\'s desk and notices that she is looking at the progr

Question

Jennifer walks behind Sloan's desk and notices that she is looking at the progress notes on a patient who was recently arrested and indicted for child abuse. The case has been in the newspaper and on television consistently for several weeks. Jennifer asks Sloan why she has accessed that record. Sloan hesitates and then says she must have entered the wrong patient ID number. Does Sloan's explanation sound convincing? Why is Jennifer concerned about Sloan looking at the patient's record? Just because the individual is a patient at the clinic, does that mean any employee has the right to look at the patient's EMR?

Discuss the questions listed after you have read the scenario. What do you think will happen to Sloan, and why does he think that medical records are not as important as other parts of the clinic? Talk about some of the mistakes you think could be made, and how to avoid them. Why is each part of the clinic, clinical, administrative, physicians and assistants important to the overall care of the clinic and the patient? How would you feel in this situation? Write 4 paragraphs.

Explanation / Answer

The digital form of patient's records offer many benefits like ease of management, retrieval and communication leading to better patient service. However, it also comes with increased responsibility to prevent the information form falling into wrong hands or being leaked by internal resources that can cause breach of privacy of individuals, sometimes with disasterous consequences.

Sloan was guilty of breaching privacy of a patient who had a critical history and any breach of privacy in the case might have led to serious legal issues, both against the hospital but also against the offenders. Sloan might have had no bad intention, but still he is guilty of accessing the information, he was not authorised to. Jennifer was concerned because she knew the seriousness of the matter and the complications it might cause, given the nature of patient's case. No one is authorised to access the confidential information of any patient, irrespective of his / her in patient / Out patient status.

Perhaps Sloan is not aware about the importance of maintaining privacy and confidentiality of information. It becomes even more important, when a leaked information might lead to complications as in this case. He might get away with a reprimand if he is first time offender.

Some of the mistakes that can be made are leaving the desktop /laptop unattended, which can expose it to risk of being accesed by third person. Another risk is transmission of confidential data by unsrupulous employees who might do it for money or other benefits. Another risk is exposure to viruses and bugs through internet, that might corrupt the files and steal information. To avoid these mistakes, one must be cautious, not to leave the information at risk of exposure to fellow colleagues or others, protecting the system from cyber threats and other risks.

The confidentiality and ethical treatment with strict guidelines to protect the identity and vital information of the patient is the responsibility of entire healthcare system. It can be achieved through high customer focus, water proof security of systems, training of employees, chalking out and implementing standard operating procedures, risk assessment and mitigation process and multi level monitoring of processes to avaoid any such cases.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse J
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.