Please explain the following situation. You are an IT consultant working for a d
ID: 410221 • Letter: P
Question
Please explain the following situation. You are an IT consultant working for a doctor's office. You discover that a well-known movie star is a patient. The tabloids have publishing stories about this celebrity having plastic surgery. You have access to all the patient files in the Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Your dilemma is that you have a professional responsibility to keep this information private. Should you look at the star's information in the EMR? Should you share this information with some of your friends? With the public? Are there any federal regulations to consider? What about company policy?
Explanation / Answer
Q1) I feel that medical information and health records of a patient irrespective of whether he/she is a celebrity or not, is denied without his/her permission. In this case, though I possess the access to all the patient files in the EMR, I should not look at the information unless and until it is required for some activity and the patient has provided consent to view it.
Q2) The information should not be shared with the friends or with public against the star's or his family's consent to do so according to HIPAA federal regulations of patient data security policies.
Q3) The hospital has the responsibility to protect patient's confidential and personal information from leaking out in every possible way. If the hospital's policy is to provide access to records in a controlled manner for effective use and avoiding misuse, the staff can proceed and access the information.