Protected Health Information (PHI)- Privacy Security and Confidentiality Best Practices Protected Health Information (PHI): Best Practices

PHI refers to all health information created, transmitted, received, or stored by all HIPAA-covered entities and their business associates.

It includes all identifiable health information, such as medical history, demographic data of patients, insurance information, test results, and others.

PHI is protected under the HIPAA privacy and security rule (Moore & Frye, 2019).

What are privacy, security, and confidentiality?

The privacy rule requires appropriate safeguards by all HIPAA-covered entities to protect PHI. In this regard, these entities set limits and conditions on the use and disclosure of PHI without consent from the individual.

The security rule applies to PHI. It requires physical, administrative, and technical safeguards of PHI to ensure the security, integrity, and confidentiality of this information is maintained.

Confidentiality refers to the preservation of authorized restrictions on access and disclosure of PHI. It is designed to protect PHI from unauthorized access or access attempts as well as disclosure of this information by various covered entities (Garner, 2021). privacy, security, and confidentiality?

Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Safeguard PHI

Healthcare providers are part of the covered entities listed under the HIPAA privacy and security rule.

They are mandated by law to ensure necessary safety and security safeguards on PHI.

Collaborative approaches provide a platform for enhancing providers’ understanding of PHI.

These approaches also enhance providers’ understanding of healthcare technologies that store and transmit PHI, thereby enhancing their safeguard measures for the privacy and security of PHI (McGraw & Mandl, 2021).

PHI Protection in the Era of Social Media Use

Social media platforms have been implicated in breaches in confidentiality, privacy, and security safeguards on PHI (Balestra, 2018).

In the U.S., 81% of nurses use social media in their normal life interactions.

Nurse-related HIPAA violations have been established in over 35 instances.

Sanction and Penalties against Violators of Social Media Policies and HIPAA

Sanction differs and is dependent on the extent of the breach.

Minor violations may be handled internally.

Violators may be subjected to additional training on PHI protections.

Serious violation fetches disciplinary actions: termination or punishment by the board of nursing in the jurisdiction the nurse is practicing in may be warranted.

Complaints submitted to the DOJ against providers and healthcare organizations may fetch fines and jail terms.

Fines of up to $250,000 or jail terms of up to 10 years.