1. Privacy Act of 1974
  2. Summarize the health care law in your own words

The Privacy Act of 1974 stipulates how individual information is kept in a records system and how such information is handled to prevent disclosure to any person or agency. The Privacy Act necessitates all agencies to take stringent measures to ensure individual information is safe. The Act stipulates that individual information should only be disclosed following a written request from an individual or by obtaining consent from the individual. However, there are instances where such information may be disclosed without the individual’s consent, such as: if a court of competent jurisdiction wants such information, under compelling circumstances such as health and safety, among others.

  • How is the law regulated?

The Privacy Act prohibits sharing of a patient’s information without the individual consent unless the information is required by health workers in the performance of their duties, if a court of competent jurisdiction requires such information, under compelling circumstances like health and safety, for an established routine, according to Freedom of Information Act among others as stated under statutory exceptions (Pritts, 2008).

  • Characteristics of the health care law

The Privacy Act lays out the information to be protected, how private information should be handled when personal data can be disclosed, whether disclosure of the data is readily available to the public constitutes disclosure, and the consequences of revealing private information. The Privacy Act, concerning health, states how patients’ data should be handled.

  • Hospital Policies
  • Summarize the health care policy in your own words

The hospital policies are guidelines that ensure the hospital runs smoothly and is compliant with safety measures. The hospital policies ensure that patients and visitors are being handled appropriately, ensure the staff is complying with the rules and regulations of an organization,  the personal hygiene of the staff is being maintained, the skill set of the staff is improved,  medicine is appropriately handled during shipping and over the counter to avoid mistake and accidents, treatment is readily available to outpatients and information of the patient is taken care of, and private information is handled as such (Donnell, 2012).

  • How is the law regulated?

Hospital policies set out safety guidelines that stipulate how a patient should be handled, how nurses and doctors dress, and be equipped to ensure their safety. The hospital policies also set out nutrition guidelines for patients, admission, and discharge procedures to ensure the patient is taken care of and discharged properly.

  • Characteristics of the health care policy

Hospital policies set out visitation rules, the procedure for acquisition of equipment, dress code policy for nurses and doctors, staff shift policies, staff personal hygiene, family and patient education, admission and discharge procedures, patient’s rights and responsibilities, how to handle drugs and how patient information is handled (Irving, 2014).

REFERENCES

Donnell J. (2014), Policies and Procedures: Enhancing Pharmacy Practice and Limiting Risk, Pharmacy and Therapeutics. Retrieved on October 31, 2020 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3411206/

Irving V. (2014), Policies and Procedures for Healthcare Organizations: A Risk Management Perspective, Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare. Retrieved on October 31, 2020 https://www.psqh.com/analysis/policies-and-procedures-for-healthcare-organizations-a-risk-management-perspective/

Pritts J. (2008) The Importance and Value of Protecting the privacy of health information; Role of HIPAA Privacy Rule and the Common Rule in health research. Retrieved on October 31, 2020https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9579/#:~:text=These%20studies%20show%20that%20protecting,reviewed%20by%20Pritts%2C%202008).

Privacy Act of 1974

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