Please create a response to my classmate posting that I will list below.

APA format*** 2 paragraphs for the response below***at least 4-5 sentences each paragraph***2 References**

My Classmates posting is below:

On
a mental health unit, patient privacy is imperative. Some patients come
onto the mental health unit from domestic violence situations or other
violent situations where privacy is the utmost important. On any unit,
the computers are one of the best ways for others, not privy to
information, to find out more about the patients on the units. Hospitals
are making progress toward adopting electronic health records, but at
the same time, they are increasing the potential for data security
breaches (EHR coming on strong, 2011). However, we are always reminded
of HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA) security rule, which established national standards for
protecting electronic protected health information (Collmer 2016). At
each workstation, there are multiple fliers and reminders about HIPAA.
For all the computers, we utilize screen protectors which, unless one is
looking directly straight at the screen, one cannot see the information
on the screen because it is blurred out. There is a safeguard in our
electronic charting system that will automatically “time out,” which
make sure that even if the nurse forgets to log out, the system will
automatically log out after a given time.

Portable Devices

My
current facility does not utilize any hand-held devices to convey
patient information, but we do use computers/workstations on wheels
(COWs/WOWs), which as the name implies, is a computer on wheels that can
be rolled from room to room to chart patient information. It remains
the responsibility of the nurse to ensure that the patient’s information
is secured. The nurse must make sure that he/she logs out of the system
anytime that the COW/WOW is not in use or left unattended. The software
system that my facility uses for patient charting also has a safeguard
on the COW/WOW. After five minutes of idle time, the software system
will automatically log the user out and gray the screen so that no
patient information can be viewed. As a nurse, we must also make sure
that we are not logged into another patient’s information while in a
different patient’s room, we must always check that no one is looking
over our shoulder at protected patient information, and ensure that only
those providing care for the patient have access to said information.
Another complicated issue regarding protecting patient information is
the use of mobile devices by healthcare professionals (McGonigle &
Mastrian, 2015). Some of our physicians will use their cellular devices
to communicate with one another regarding consults on patients.
Sometimes using the phones in a room with a patient can be seen as an
invasion of privacy. When working with psychiatric patients, some can be
paranoid and think that private information is being shared.

Strategies Used by Hospital to Safeguard

There
are multiple strategies and policies in effect at my facility to
protect patient information. One is within our necessary yearly
competencies as it regards HIPAA. The most important strategy in effect
at my facility is to mentor others regarding the safety of patient
information and proper use of our equipment in the department that
correlates with the patient’s electronic health record. For instance, if
we see a coworker step away from a COW/WOW while still being logged in
and the screen unprotected, then as a co-worker, we either put down the
screen protector or log the individual out of the system and notify that
person or our supervisor. It is not a method to get that individual in
trouble but to maybe encourage a refresher course or even just a
friendly reminder to protect the individual and the facility from
breaching patient privacy. This helps to promote a culture of safety by
showing the cohesiveness of the staff along with minimizing risks that
patient’s information could be leaked. Last year the facility had a
break of security in which various patient information was looked at.
This caused a major issue as many patients were worried that their
personal information, including insurance and social security numbers,
were able to be seen. The hospital did a good job in making sure to
alert all patients and hospital staff of the breach. This could be
detrimental to any service as a data breach can cost a hospital about $2
million in remediation and legal liability (“EHR coming on strong,”
2011). However, improvement is still needed, more safeguards must be in
check to make sure that a security breach doesn’t happen again.

Area of Improvement

One
of the ways the hospital could make sure to protect patient information
is by having the “tap-and-go” system. With this system, we have a chip
inserted into our identification cards that allow us to tap into a
computer and then tap out when done. This is especially helpful on a
psychiatric unit where sometimes an issue can arise quickly. The system
allows me to tap out quickly to diffuse any situation. This system can
help safeguard any information on a computer. I also like the system
because anything that was pulled up is saved for when the staff member
returns to that computer.

References

Collmer, V. (2016). 7 steps: To protecting the security of electronic protected health information. OT Practice, 21(14), 7-11. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/…

EHR coming on strong, but so are security risks. (2011). Healthcare Risk Management, 33(3), 32-34.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2015). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.