Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's Ethics Essay

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's Ethics - Essay Example A standard electronic device should be used to store all medical information of a person. The deadline for embracing the act was September 23, 2013. The health policy incorporates some ethical issues. These ethical issues include respect for the patient’s health information, confidentiality and honesty. HIPAA law has bought has established responsibilities for health care institutions. The HIPAA law has enhanced the confidentiality of the patients’ medical information. Confidentiality is the state of having something in a strict privacy or secrecy way. This helps to protect patient rights since only the required medical personnel’s can access the information. This is a component of providing quality medical health care. In a recent case, a patient suffering from paranoid schizophrenia got admitted to a mental hospital. The nurses at the hospital wanted to disclose the health information to the family. However, the patients’ physician refused since the patient had not allowed them to do so. The patients’ health rapidly improved, and within a week, he was ready for discharge. The patients’ health condition requires maximum respect. Respect is the condition of esteem. In the case of ongoing treatment, obtaining payments and for healthcare operations, one can share protected health information. Except for insurance reasons in order to receive payments written authorization should be presented any time one requires medical records. Under this condition HIPAA only allows access of minimum necessary information to perform job duties. This enhances respect for patients’ health information. In another case, a staff member in a medical practice disclosed HIV status of the patient. This happened mistakenly after the doctor’s office faxed medical records to the patients’ place of employment rather the new healthcare provider. He thereby disclosed PHI to several other individuals.