Week 7 Check Your Knowledge Transcript
Information technology opens our windows and doors upon the world, allowing us to quickly communicate and exchange data and information within facilities, within healthcare delivery systems, and even across the globe. But with that ability also come increased risks to data and information security, consumer confidence, and reputation when information is breached, or in the case of social media, not used well. There are many new developments that include the use of social media for consumer support and networking, for collection of research information, and even as a means to advertise services. A 2013 post by Joan Justice spoke to how the Mayo Clinic set the standard for social media use in healthcare. It established an entire center dedicated to facilitating social media use, including as a means to promote health and health literacy. Consider ways in which social media may be used to enhance healthcare delivery in your setting as potential issues that would need to be addressed. Also consider ways that you can increase your professional networking through the use of social networking.
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Justice, J. (May 20, 2013). The big brand theory: How the Mayo Clinic became the gold standard for social media in healthcare. Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com/joan-justice/1478141/big-brand-theory-how-mayo-clinic-became-gold-standard-social-media-healthcare
Importance of Communication Systems
Communication is a skill that is just as important as computer or information literacy and clinical nursing skills. Think back to the days of mental health nursing and therapeutic communication skills. The emphasis was on open-ended questions to encourage the patient to share information, and on clarifying and reflecting to ensure the nurse heard what the patient was trying to say. Skilled communication goes a few steps further. We are talking about collaborative, respectful communication among and between the healthcare team members and the patient. Active listening to seek understanding is crucial when trying to solve the communication puzzle.
Active listening to seek understanding is a team building technique for achieving consensus. If we understand where the other person is coming from, chances are much better that we will be able to come to a resolution that both parties can endorse. Active listening for understanding is essential for conflict resolution, but it takes practice to become an expert listener.
Communication can now take place through texting and social media instead of always face to face. Nurses have embraced social media and many are using its potential to enhance practice and improve health for themselves and their patients. One must consider the risks and benefits for the individual and the organization. Specific policies and procedures must be in place for the organization for the protection of the public, the organization, and the nurse.
Reflection
In today’s world of Facebook, Twitter, texting, instant messaging, blogging, and even old-fashioned e-mailing, skilled communication becomes more of a challenge. What potential issues can happen when everyone is connected daily to social media? What risks are involved with healthcare and social media?
Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security
Technology in healthcare today allows for global healthcare information systems (HISs), more specialized clinical information systems (CIS), and the electronic health record (EHR) (Hebda & Czar, 2013). This week, let us look at how these systems can impact communication specifically.
Technology has the ability to streamline and enhance communication. Technology systems have the ability to be a one-time entry of data that can be sent and retrieved by multiple users. The ideal is a system that is updated, backed up, stored, and maintained for ready access—anytime, anywhere.
Privacy, confidentiality, and security are always on the minds of healthcare workers.
Integrity
Integrity in the world of healthcare ethics refers to truth and completeness. When we talk about data integrity, we are talking about objectivity. Are the data we have gathered objective and accurate? The answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no. If we gather laboratory results, we know that the laboratory has rules and regulations about the calibration of equipment to ensure accurate results. Laboratory data are also objective—they are what they are. Now, if we look at the nurse’s physical assessment findings, are they objective or subjective? Are the findings accurate? We would probably agree that the answer to those questions depends on the skills of the assessor. Data integrity means we can count on the information to be true, whole, and complete.
Security
Security, on the other hand, refers to protecting the data. Are the data safe from the hands of those who do not need to know? The answer to that question requires an inquiry into the information management systems of the organization. How are data derived, processed, stored, and retrieved? Do we know who can access them, when, and how? Can we be assured that the data are not accessible by those who should not have access? System firewalls, security passwords, virus protection, storage, and backup are a few of the security issues that must be addressed in the planning stages of a healthcare information system. It takes conscientious effort by all users to ensure that the data remain protected. But the integrity of the data is dependent in many instances on the human collector. It is the professional role responsibility of the RN to evaluate the data.
Confidentiality and Privacy
Whether you are working with an information system in a healthcare setting or the information system for your online courses, confidentiality and privacy are big issues. Think about your personal health information or your personal student progress records. Would you want just anyone to have access to that information? Probably not, because most of us guard our privacy carefully, and we know that it is within our rights that certain information is kept confidential. How do we know about our privacy and confidentiality rights? In the healthcare system, patients sign documents that allow the healthcare organization to share information with the patient’s insurance company. Patients are given a bill of rights and are asked to identify who can be given information about their conditions. Check out how your student records are protected. When do you have to sign authorization for information to be released?
Reflection
Confidentiality refers to keeping information from those who do not need to know, and privacy refers to our individual right to reveal to others only what we want to reveal. Do we ask patients to reveal information that violates their right to privacy? If a patient reveals information and specifically requests it be kept confidential, how should the nurse respond?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is probably best known for requiring healthcare providers to inform patients about privacy issues. But HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rules offer federal protection of personal health information and give patients the rights to that information (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/index.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. ). It also tries to balance the need for information to be shared with those who need to know.
Legal issues can range from professional malpractice to corporate wrongdoing related to information security. Legal issues in information systems are difficult to separate from ethical issues. For example, a patient tells the nurse that they want to talk about some private issues and asks the nurse to keep the information confidential. The nurse agrees; but, after the patient shares the information, the nurse feels that the care team should know in order to make good decisions about treatment. If the nurse informs the team without the patient’s permission, can the nurse be held legally liable for breach of promise? That is a tough decision, and one that the nurse needs to consider carefully.
An example of a more straightforward legal issue is the employee who takes patient information home—either on paper or on an electronic device—that then gets stolen. This employee will most certainly be held liable for breach of information security. Another example would be copying healthcare information and distributing to others without written consent from the patient.
