Patient Privacy

Instructions:

• A quality peer response is a minimum of 150 words
• You must respond to at least two (2) of your peers’ initial posts.

In the response post, include the following:

• Answer the questions posed in your classmate’s post.
• Ask one follow-up question as it relates to privacy and security.
• Demonstrate your critical thinking and reflection on the topic.

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.

Unit 2 Assignment Notice of Privacy Practices

Instructions

In this week’s assignment, you will review a sample Notice of Privacy Practices. The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires health plans and covered health care providers to develop and distribute a notice that provides a clear, user-friendly explanation of individual’s rights with respect to their personal health information and the privacy practices of health plans and health care providers. These notices help improve patient experience and understanding. After you have reviewed the sample Notice of Privacy Practices you will:

1. Complete an internet search for two different healthcare facilities Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) – include one facility familiar to you and one facility unknown to you. For example, locate your local hospital’s Notice of Privacy Practices and a hospital in a different city or state.
2. Then using the two Notice of Privacy Practices you have located you will complete the attached Word Template.

Sample Notice of Privacy Practices https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ocr/privacy/hipaa/npp_fullpage_hc_provider.pdf (Links to an external site.)

Part I: Includes two (2) Tables (one for each facility NPP) of the ten (10) most important pieces of information that must be included in an NPP

• In the Column Is the Element Present? Yes or No– click on choose an item. You will choose Yes or No
• In the Column In your own words, what does the element say? Click or tap here to enter text words. Here you will paraphrase what the Notice of Privacy policy you have located says about this element.
  • Make sure you paraphrase – do not copy and paste the pieces of information from the NPPs you located in your research.

Part II:

• Explain the similarities and differences between the two NPPs using the table provided.
• Provide a minimum of five (5) similarities and five (5) differences.

Part III: In the spaces provided on the template, answer the following questions based on your research and knowledge from the course, determine if the facilities included all the required elements.

1. If the facility did not include all the required elements, indicate what elements are missing and how the facility should correct the issue.
2. If the facility did include all the required elements, explain why you feel all the elements are present.
3. In the spaces provided answer the following for each facility: If a patient feels his/her rights were violated, according to the NPPs you located, who may the patient contact to file a complaint and what are the ways a patient may file a complaint, for each facility?
4. Complete the Title Page and Reference Page provided in the template

• • On the Reference Page please include in APA format
    • Any references
    • List each facility name with a direct link to their Notice of Privacy Practices

Unit 3 Discussion Retention and Destruction

Instructions:

• A quality initial post is a minimum of 250 words.

Retention and Destruction of Health Information

Please complete the following steps for your discussion post and response.

For this discussion board assignment, you will need to locate a current Privacy & Security article that applies to the retention and destruction of health information.

• The article must have been published within the last two years.
• Include the Title of Article
• Include Author(s) of Article
• Summarize the article.
• Provide two questions to your fellow classmates, one in support of the article and one counter-argument question.

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format

Unit 4 Discussion Medical Identity Theft

Medical Identity Theft

Please complete the following steps for your discussion post and response. A minimum of 250 word

This week we will discuss Privacy & Security as it applies to medical identity theft. Medical identity theft occurs when someone steals or uses your personal medical information (like your name, Social Security number, or Medicare number), to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare and other health insurers without your authorization. Medical identity theft can disrupt your medical care, and wastes taxpayer dollars.

• Post a question to your classmates that you believe is important as a patient to ask your health care provider regarding medical identity theft prevention in their practice.
• Be specific (don’t just ask what preventions they provide).

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.

Unit 4 Assignment – Security Policies

Instructions

As technology expands into health care, it becomes an integral part of the overall healthcare system. Recently you may have heard news stories involving a breach of patient information at hospitals and other health care organizations. This can be particularly troubling given the type of information health organizations store on each patient and the trust associated with disclosing that information.

In the resources of this unit, you reviewed information on “Security Policies” which provides a thorough examination of what an organization must put into place to protect patient information. This assignment will allow you to put into action what you have learned by creating your own Security Policy.

Use the assignment file below as a guide to complete the following steps.

• Create a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)document that could be shared with others in the community.
  • Example: (do not use this example in your assignment)
  • User Logon IDs
    • Question: Why should a password be a minimum of eight (8) characters using upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters?
    • Answer: The combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters make the password difficult to guess.

• Include ALL six (6) subcategories listed in Section 3 – Identification and Authentication document (p. 20-22). The subcategories include:

1. 1. User Logon IDs
      1. Question 1 and Answer 1
      2. Question 2 and Answer 2
   2. Passwords
      1. Question 1 and Answer 1
      2. Question 2 and Answer 2
   3. Confidentiality Agreement
      1. Question 1 and Answer 1
      2. Question 2 and Answer 2
   4. Access Control
      1. Question 1 and Answer 1
      2. Question 2 and Answer 2
   5. User Logon Entitlement Reviews
      1. Question 1 and Answer 1
      2. Question 2 and Answer 2
   6. Termination of User Logon Account.
      1. Question 1 and Answer 1
      2. Question 2 and Answer 2

• List Each Subcategory with the two (2) Frequently Asked Questions and (2) Answers. You should have a total of 12 questions/12 answers once you complete each subcategory.
• Include a minimum of two images and use Times New Roman font size 12.
• Be Creative!!!
• Do not copy and paste questions found on the internet or during your research.
• Include all references in APA format on a separate Reference Page in your document.

Unit 5 Discussion Patient Consent

Patient Consent

Please complete the following steps for your discussion post and response. A minimum of 250 word

This unit let’s discuss Patient Consent. There have been several lawsuits regarding patient consent involving spouses consenting to medical treatment when a patient cannot. Patients who are unable to give consent can designate a specific individual to give consent on their behalf or default to the spouse.

• But what happens when medical treatment a spouse consents to go against the wishes of the biological family?
• Should the biological family be allowed in the decision-making process?
• Discuss both the positive attributes of this and potential negative consequences in your initial post.

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.

Unit 6 Discussion Contentious Public Health Issue

Contentious Public Health Issue

Please complete the following steps for your discussion post and response. A minimum of 250 words

This unit’s discussion board assignment, you will read the article, Scientific progress could be casualty in public health vs. Privacy debate over newborn blood samples, experts warn, pertaining to a contentious public health issue involving a current bioethical topic. Think about the difficulty in balancing patient privacy with research and the public good. Then, think about other potential results of newborn screening beside what is described in the article. Could there be other factors that are not discussed, but could have consequences?

• Read the article: Scientific progress could be casualty in public health vs. Privacy debate over newborn blood samples, experts warn (Links to an external site.)
• Summarize the article.
• Provide two questions to your fellow classmates, one in support of the article and one counter argument question.

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.

Unit 6 Assignment – HIPAA

Instructions

This unit’s assignment focuses on a particularly sensitive aspect of healthcare, mental health. Given the sensitive nature of mental health and substance use disorder treatment information, understanding HIPAA protections as a healthcare professional is particularly important. Using the document, Office for Civil Rights Headquarters. (2020, June 4). HIPAA Privacy and Sharing Information Related to Mental Health (Links to an external site.). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/new-faqs-on-sharing-information.pdf, answer the following questions:

1. Does HIPAA provide extra protections for mental health information compared with other health information?
2. Is a health care provider permitted to discuss an adult patient’s mental health information with the patient’s parents or other family members?
3. Can a minor child’s doctors talk to the child’s parent about the patient’s mental health status and needs?
4. Does a parent have a right to receive a copy of psychotherapy notes about a child’s mental health treatment?
5. When does HIPAA allow a doctor to notify an individual’s family, friends, or caregivers that a patient has overdosed, e.g., because of opioid abuse?

Your paper should be formatted and include the following:

• APA format, 1” margins, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font.
• You should include each of the questions as a heading for your paper.
• Responses should be in your own voice and unique to you. DO NOT copy and paste from the document or website research.
• Include a reference page. Include the “HIPAA Privacy Rule and Sharing information related to Mental Health” as your reference.
• Your responses to each question should be a minimum of 100 words each, in paragraph form.
  • Do not just list the facts but ALSO engage your critical thinking and share your thoughts about each question as well.
• Include all references in APA format on a separate Reference Page in your document.

Unit 7 Discussion Unprotected Health

Unprotected Health Information

Please complete the following steps for your discussion post and response.

As we approach the last few weeks of our course, this unit’s discussion will focus on portions of health information that is NOT currently protected. Information that is part of an employee health and wellness plan is an example of health information not currently protected under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Some believe that the availability of this medical information could leave employees vulnerable to privacy invasion and employment discrimination. There are laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act that prohibit employers from collecting health data information from employees, but certain rules exempt health data collection by wellness programs.

• Post two (2) questions to your fellow peers regarding one benefit and one disadvantage of keeping employer wellness program health data unprotected. A minimum of 250 words

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.