NUR 514 Topic 7 DQ 1 & 2 Discussion: Discuss a current news article on ransomware in the health care field. Share an example of how this can impact protected health information (PHI) and the requirements for privacy and confidentiality

NUR 514 Topic 7 DQ 1 & 2 Discussion: Discuss a current news article on ransomware in the health care field. Share an example of how this can impact protected health information (PHI) and the requirements for privacy and confidentiality

NUR 514 Topic 7 DQ 1 & 2 Discussion: Discuss a current news article on ransomware in the health care field. Share an example of how this can impact protected health information (PHI) and the requirements for privacy and confidentiality

Topic 7 DQ 1

Assessment Description

Discuss a current news article on ransomware in the health care field. Share an example of how this can impact protected health information (PHI) and the requirements for privacy and confidentiality

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Topic 7 DQ 2

Assessment Description

Review HIPAA, protected health information (PHI), and requirements for privacy and confidentiality in EHRs. Discuss one ethical and one legal issue related to the use of EHRs that directly impact advanced registered nursing practice. Consider the emerging role of the telehealth and the EHR in patient care delivery and compromise of patient data using telehealth applications and measures you can implement in your own practice to protect patient privacy and confidentiality.

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Topic 7 DQ 1

The American Hospital Association (AHA) asserts that ransomware attacks on hospitals and health systems are more than white-collar crimes because of their lethal effects on patients and their needs. The association terms such attacks as threat-to-life crimes since they bear a direct negative impact on a hospital’s ability to offer patient care which places patient safety at risk (Riggi, 2020). The association notes that prior to COVID-19, the frequency, sophistication, and severity of ransomware attacks on healthcare providers had risen. The article by Brooks on August 2, 2023 reports about a ransomware attack that led to the shutting down of emergency rooms and diversion of ambulances at multiple hospitals in California. The article reports that the ransomware attacked Prospect Medical Holdings of Los Angeles which also runs other facilities in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island as well as Texas. The hospital system launched an investigation to get to the root cause of the breach. The article says that upon learning about the incident, the hospitals ensured that their systems were offline to protect them from any further breaches and access by criminals (Brooks, 2023). Due to the ransomware, the hospital system reverted to a paper system as most of its computers went offline.

Such attacks on the healthcare organization’s data can have adverse and negative effects on protected health information (PHI) and the need for privacy and confidentiality. For instance, the attackers could access patient information through unauthorized access. Privacy and confidentiality requirements implore health organizations to protect patient data based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). As such, accessing PHI is a violation of the privacy and confidentiality requirements as espoused by this legal framework. For example, ransomware breaches these requirements when it allows attackers to access such information and data.

References

Brooks, K. (2023). Cyberattack causes multiple hospitals to shut emergency rooms and divert

ambulances. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/prospect-medical-cyberattack-california-pennsylvania-hospital/

Kiser, S., & Maniam, B. (2021). Ransomware: Healthcare industry at risk. Journal of Business

            and Accounting, 14(1), 64-81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54845/btljournal.v4i1.31

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2021). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge.

Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Riggi, J. (2020). Ransomware Attacks on Hospitals Have Changed. AHA Center for Innovation.

https://www.aha.org/center/cybersecurity-and-risk-advisory-services/ransomware-attacks-hospitals-have-changed

Topic 7 DQ 2

At the core of HIPAA are protected health information and requirements for privacy and confidentiality when using electronic health records (EHRs). HIPAA mandates that healthcare providers must protect information and data belonging to patients. The privacy and confidentiality requirements under HIPAA implore providers to only use a patient’s information through their expressed consent (McGonigle et al., 2021). An ethical issue associated with the use of EHRs is the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches. Through these breaches, one can access sensitive patient information that leads to identity theft, and financial loss and damages the reputation of a patient (Baumgart, 2020). HIPAA mandates all healthcare providers to comply with these provisions. However, a core legal issue associated with HIPAA is non-compliance by healthcare providers which can lead to stiffer penalties, including fines and even imprisonment (Vos et al., 2020). Healthcare organizations and practitioners have a legal obligation to protect the privacy and confidentiality of protected health information (PHI).

Telehealth and EHR play important roles in patient care delivery. Patient data and information should held as securely as possible with passwords and other login information never being shared among team members. As such, EHRs play a critical role in telehealth as they offer providers effective and secure access to patients’ medical history, allowing them to make more informed decisions on care delivery based on the most effective interventions (Dang et al., 2019). Conversely, using telehealth applications can also compromise patient data because of possible attacks or unauthorized access. As such, to protect the privacy and confidentiality of this information, healthcare providers or organizations can deploy secure and encrypted communication channels, carry out regular security audits, and train their staff on data privacy and security requirements (Gao et al., 2019). They can also ensure that the staff uses strong passwords and develop policies on the use of computers in such facilities. As such while EHRs and telehealth have the potential to enhance patient care, they also present ethical and legal challenges that should be addressed to attain patient privacy and confidentiality.

References

Baumgart, D. C. (2020). Digital advantage in the COVID-19 response: perspective from

Canada’s largest integrated digitalized healthcare system. NPJ digital medicine, 3(1), 114. DOI: 10.1038/s41746-020-00326-y.

Dang, L. M., Piran, M., Han, D., Min, K., & Moon, H. (2019). A survey on internet of things and

cloud computing for healthcare. Electronics, 8(7), 768. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics8070768

Gao, F., & Sunyaev, A. (2019). Context matters: A review of the determinant factors in the

decision to adopt cloud computing in healthcare. International journal of information management, 48, 120-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.02.002

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2021). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge.

Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Vos, J. F., Boonstra, A., Kooistra, A., Seelen, M., & van Offenbeek, M. (2020). The influence of

electronic health record use on collaboration among medical specialties. BMC Health services research, 20(1), 1-11. DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05542-6