The document discusses healthcare record confidentiality. It outlines that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) establishes standards to ensure privacy and security of individuals' health information. Only authorized users can access patient health records for direct care purposes. Unauthorized access is a federal crime. Additionally, the Hippocratic Oath requires doctors to keep patient information private. The document provides an example where 120 UCLA hospital employees inappropriately accessed celebrity health records between 2004-2006, including those of Britney Spears, Farrah Fawcett, and Maria Shriver.
2. The health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996
Establishes a set of standards that ensure the
privacy and the security of an individual’s
identifiable information (“What Is,” n.d.).
3. Only an authorized user can access a patient’s
health record for the direct purpose of providing or
facilitating patient care.
4. Unauthorized access to a patient’s health record
is a federal crime and any perpetrator is subject to
punishment (“Report: Over,” 2008).
5. The Hippocratic Oath requires a physician to keep
a patient’s health information private
(“Confidentiality Of,” 2003).
6. 120 UCLA hospital employees accessed celebrity
health records inappropriately between January
2004 and June 2006.
The records of Britney Spears, Farrah Fawcett,
and Maria Shriver were inappropriately accessed
(“Report: Over,” 2008).
7. Confidentiality of medical records: A situation analysis and
AHIMA’s position. AHIMA. Retrieved on February 5, 2015,
from,
http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahim
a/bok2_000623.hcsp?dDocName=bok2_000623
Report: Over 120 UCLA hospital staff saw celebrity health
records. (2008, August 6). Fox News. Retrieved on February
5, 2015, from,
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/08/06/report-over-120-
ucla-hospital-staff-saw-celebrity-health-records/
What is HIPAA? (n.d.). Department of Health. Retrieved on
February 5, 2015, from, http://health.state.tn.us/hipaa/
