Healthare Policy and Regulatory

To Prepare:

• Review the Resources on healthcare policy and regulatory/legislative topics related to health and nursing informatics.
• Consider the role of the nurse informaticist in relation to a healthcare organization’s compliance with various policies and regulations, such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).(Healthare Policy and Regulatory Essay Example)
• Research and select one health or nursing informatics policy (within the past 5 years) or regulation for further study.

The Assignment: (1 page not including the title and reference page)

Create a 1-page fact sheet that your healthcare organization could hypothetically use to explain the health or nursing informatics policy/regulation you selected. Your fact sheet should address the following:

• Briefly and generally explain the policy or regulation you selected.
• Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on system implementation.
• Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow.
• Highlight organizational policies and procedures that are/will be in place at your healthcare organization to address the policy or regulation you selected. Be specific.
• Use APA format and include a title page, in-text citations, and reference page.
• Use the Safe Assign Drafts to check your match percentage before submitting your work.

Healthare Policy and Regulatory Essay Example

Policy/Regulation

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was established in June 2018 to grant California residents control over personal information collected by business entities, including healthcare organizations (Mulgund et al., 2021). The CCPA regulations apply to businesses with annual gross revenue of over $25 million, with 50% of the revenue generated through consumer personal information deals (Rothstein & Tovino, 2019). The regulation also mandates consumers’ access and deletion of personal information held by business entities, including opting out in cases where personal information is sold to third parties. Mulgund et al. (2021) observe that the privacy regulation protects consumers’ health information, such as names, geocode, medical record numbers, health plan beneficiary numbers, and other unique identifiers. Violations of the policy attract between $2500-7500 in fines.(Healthare Policy and Regulatory Essay Example)

Impact of Policy/Regulation

The CCPA regulations impact system implementation by ensuring that organizational data collection and storage systems, such as Electronic Health Records (EHR), meet consumer data protection requirements (Price et al., 2019). In this case, the EHR must be cyber secure, encrypted, and incorporate personal security access measures like Multi-factor Authentication to reduce data breaches. Consequently, the policy affects hospital workflow by constraining the operations of healthcare facilities lacking resources or are slow to adopt sophisticated technology (Mulgund et al., 2021). The constraints in workflow compel the facilities to integrate the technology and fast-track their operations based on the CCPA regulations, leading to the protection of patients’ personal information.(Healthare Policy and Regulatory Essay Example)

Besides, it inhibits effective patient-provider interactions by hindering data discovery and inventory (Mulgund et al. 2021). Tracking data upon consumer request is challenging, especially when the organization utilizes paper records or when data is stored in unstructured files and pdfs. Such challenges increase the risk of loss of patient information and non-compliance with the CCPA regulations, which may attract fines and affect the hospital’s financial position and reputation. Lastly, it enhances patients’ confidence in clinical care by granting them control over their data (Shukla et al., 2022). Trust in the healthcare system enables clients to share personal information to improve treatment outcomes.(Healthare Policy and Regulatory Essay Example)

Organizational Procedures

Our organization has developed various policies to aid compliance with the CCPA regulations, such as regularly assessing and evaluating its EHR to identify and improve data privacy safeguards. Also, the hospital conducts regular awareness campaigns to ensure employees and patients comprehend and comply with the CCPA requirements, like deleting a patient’s personal information upon request (Price et al., 2019). Additionally, it has established measures for receiving consumers’ consent before utilizing personal information for medical research purposes. In this case, it complies with the County of Santa Clara health system privacy policies, requiring healthcare facilities and researchers to contact patients for permission to use their personal information for medical research (Hughes (2019).(Healthare Policy and Regulatory Essay Example)

References

Hughes, A. (2019, March 1). Notice of Privacy Practices. San Jose: County of Santa Clara Health System. https://www.scvmc.org/sites/g/files/exjcpb911/files/Notice%20of%20Privacy%20Practices%20-%20English%20Mar%202019%20final.pdf

Mulgund, P., Mulgund, B. P., Sharman, R., & Singh, R. (2021). The implications of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) on healthcare organizations: Lessons learned from early compliance experiences. Health Policy and Technology, 10(3), 100543.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2021.100543

Price, W. N., Kaminski, M. E., Minssen, T., & Spector-Bagdady, K. (2019). Shadow health records meet new data privacy laws. Science, 363(6426), 448-450. https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract_id=3254511

Rothstein, M. A., & Tovino, S. A. (2019). California takes the lead on data privacy law. Hastings Center Report, 49(5), 4-5. https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.1042

Shukla, S., Kureethara, J. V., George, J. P. & Tiwari, K. (2022). Data Ethics and Challenges. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. ISBN: 9789811907524

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is regulation of health workers important?

Regulation of health workers is crucial to ensure the safety, quality, and effectiveness of healthcare services. It establishes standardized education, training, and licensing requirements, guaranteeing that healthcare practitioners possess the necessary skills and knowledge to provide competent care. Additionally, regulations help monitor and maintain professional ethics, patient rights, and public trust in the healthcare system.(Healthare Policy and Regulatory Essay Example)

What is the importance of regulation?

Regulation is crucial for maintaining order, ensuring fairness, and safeguarding the well-being of individuals and society within various industries and sectors. It establishes rules and standards that guide behavior, protect consumers, prevent monopolies, encourage competition, and mitigate risks. Effective regulation promotes stability, trust, and sustainable growth in economies and communities.(Healthare Policy and Regulatory Essay Example)

Why is it important to regulate the nursing profession?

Regulating the nursing profession is crucial to ensure patient safety and the delivery of high-quality healthcare services. Effective regulation establishes standards for education, training, and practice, ensuring that nurses possess the necessary skills and knowledge to provide competent care. It also enforces ethical conduct, accountability, and professionalism among nurses, fostering public trust and confidence in the healthcare system.(Healthare Policy and Regulatory Essay Example)