Hca 322 Health Care Ethics And Medical Law
“Medical Records”
HCA 322 Health Care Ethics & Medical Law
06/11/2013
“Medical Records” 1
Some of the laws that bind the professional that works with
medical records are the maintaining of patient medical information
such as doctors’ orders, test results, x-rays, the prescriptions of
different medications etc. Medical records must be precise,
complete, and protected by a health care provider so that the
Patient’s sensitive and personal information cannot be accessed
by any third party. Medical records are kept by law for 7 years,
and must be disposed of by a paper …show more content…
shredder or placed in a
medical records retaining box that holds such records until a
professional shredding company comes to retrieve them.
“Medical records” 2
The ethical issues that a medical records professional face daily
are the incomplete or falsifying records from a physician or a
medical staff employee, employees faxing or discussing patient
information to third parties, a patient’s chart in view at a
receptionist area or nurses’ station that can be seen by
others, and computers not logged off or monitors turned off when
an employee leaves the terminal.
These mistakes are in direct
violation of Hippa (the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act). A physician not completing a chart is also
“Medical Records” 3
a common mistake that should be corrected by the assisting
nurse. But there will be times when these records reach the
medical records department personnel and as a professional,
these records should be brought to the attention of the assisting
nurse or the acting physician. When falsifying occurs, despite the
reason, it should also be brought to the attention of the assisting
nurse or the acting physician. As we all know, that’s the correct
way of approaching something like this but in reality it would be a
different
story.
“Medical Records” 4
When this type of problem occurs, some employees tend to
shy away due to reprisal and or termination. But most of the time,
when brought to the physician’s attention it’s corrected
immediately. It’s the responsibility of all medical staff as well as
the medical records personnel to comply with Hippa guidelines.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or hipaa
Is a law that gives the right of privacy to individuals as young as
12 and must have a signed disclosure form from the patient to
release any information to third parties. Ethical issues that may
“Medical Records” 5
occur in a workplace would be employees discussing a
patient’s diagnosis or treatments with each other. It could go as
far as an employee discussing private information with others
such as friends or family outside the workplace. This happens
often in many hospitals as well as medical offices and clinical
settings and can cause such problems as other patients finding
out, being punished for not complying with the hipaa rules and
regulations which an employee can be terminated and /or do jail
time. The right thing to do is advise your coworker of the
“Medical Records” 6
wrong they are doing. If it does not stop, talk to the immediate
supervisor about the matter. A patient’s medical chart holds
valuable and important information and It’s very crucial that
nurses as well as medical records personnel handle these charts
responsibly so that this information stays private. It happens often
in times of emergencies or when a medical records personnel has
a heavy work load that medical charts are left open and can be
seen by others. Hipaa states that medical records should be
locked away when not in use. Electronic medical records (EMR) is
“Medical Records” 7
the most used, safest, and most secure filing system that can
store medical records for later use. These types of medical records
are rarely touched by others and can only be accessed by using
a password. There are also fewer errors, a decrease in paper work,
and will save a company time and money. In order to avoid any
discrepancies, medical staff need to log off their computers when
not using them and not share their passwords with others.
Finally, in order to have an efficient medical records department,
personnel must have weekly meetings to address any
“Medical Records” 8
misunderstandings and unwanted errors on patient medical
records medical records and to answer any questions about EMR
procedures, ethical policies and regulations.
References:
Wolf, I. (2011, Mar 20). Medical ID theft victims denied records; privacy laws are cited; health could hang in balance. News Sentinel (2007-Current). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/857751619?accountid=32521
State laws and court decisions define use of medical records to protect employee 's privacy. (1982). Employee Benefit Plan Review, 37(3), 32-32. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216869953?accountid=32521
Zittrain, J. (2001). Many privacy laws can be applied to medical records. Ophthalmology Times, 26(5), 10-15. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195756255?accountid=32521
Rubin, A. J. (1998, Sep 06). Medical records becoming less confidential congress considering laws to protect privacy. The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/393754338?accountid=32521
HCA 322 Health Care Ethics & Medical Law
06/11/2013
“Medical Records” 1
Some of the laws that bind the professional that works with
medical records are the maintaining of patient medical information
such as doctors’ orders, test results, x-rays, the prescriptions of
different medications etc. Medical records must be precise,
complete, and protected by a health care provider so that the
Patient’s sensitive and personal information cannot be accessed
by any third party. Medical records are kept by law for 7 years,
and must be disposed of by a paper …show more content…
shredder or placed in a
medical records retaining box that holds such records until a
professional shredding company comes to retrieve them.
“Medical records” 2
The ethical issues that a medical records professional face daily
are the incomplete or falsifying records from a physician or a
medical staff employee, employees faxing or discussing patient
information to third parties, a patient’s chart in view at a
receptionist area or nurses’ station that can be seen by
others, and computers not logged off or monitors turned off when
an employee leaves the terminal.
These mistakes are in direct
violation of Hippa (the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act). A physician not completing a chart is also
“Medical Records” 3
a common mistake that should be corrected by the assisting
nurse. But there will be times when these records reach the
medical records department personnel and as a professional,
these records should be brought to the attention of the assisting
nurse or the acting physician. When falsifying occurs, despite the
reason, it should also be brought to the attention of the assisting
nurse or the acting physician. As we all know, that’s the correct
way of approaching something like this but in reality it would be a
different
story.
“Medical Records” 4
When this type of problem occurs, some employees tend to
shy away due to reprisal and or termination. But most of the time,
when brought to the physician’s attention it’s corrected
immediately. It’s the responsibility of all medical staff as well as
the medical records personnel to comply with Hippa guidelines.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or hipaa
Is a law that gives the right of privacy to individuals as young as
12 and must have a signed disclosure form from the patient to
release any information to third parties. Ethical issues that may
“Medical Records” 5
occur in a workplace would be employees discussing a
patient’s diagnosis or treatments with each other. It could go as
far as an employee discussing private information with others
such as friends or family outside the workplace. This happens
often in many hospitals as well as medical offices and clinical
settings and can cause such problems as other patients finding
out, being punished for not complying with the hipaa rules and
regulations which an employee can be terminated and /or do jail
time. The right thing to do is advise your coworker of the
“Medical Records” 6
wrong they are doing. If it does not stop, talk to the immediate
supervisor about the matter. A patient’s medical chart holds
valuable and important information and It’s very crucial that
nurses as well as medical records personnel handle these charts
responsibly so that this information stays private. It happens often
in times of emergencies or when a medical records personnel has
a heavy work load that medical charts are left open and can be
seen by others. Hipaa states that medical records should be
locked away when not in use. Electronic medical records (EMR) is
“Medical Records” 7
the most used, safest, and most secure filing system that can
store medical records for later use. These types of medical records
are rarely touched by others and can only be accessed by using
a password. There are also fewer errors, a decrease in paper work,
and will save a company time and money. In order to avoid any
discrepancies, medical staff need to log off their computers when
not using them and not share their passwords with others.
Finally, in order to have an efficient medical records department,
personnel must have weekly meetings to address any
“Medical Records” 8
misunderstandings and unwanted errors on patient medical
records medical records and to answer any questions about EMR
procedures, ethical policies and regulations.
References:
Wolf, I. (2011, Mar 20). Medical ID theft victims denied records; privacy laws are cited; health could hang in balance. News Sentinel (2007-Current). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/857751619?accountid=32521
State laws and court decisions define use of medical records to protect employee 's privacy. (1982). Employee Benefit Plan Review, 37(3), 32-32. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216869953?accountid=32521
Zittrain, J. (2001). Many privacy laws can be applied to medical records. Ophthalmology Times, 26(5), 10-15. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195756255?accountid=32521
Rubin, A. J. (1998, Sep 06). Medical records becoming less confidential congress considering laws to protect privacy. The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/393754338?accountid=32521