Implementing training to help employees understand confidentiality within their healthcare organization.

1. Confidentiality Training in
Healthcare Organizations
GWENDOLYN MARSHALL
MHA 690
11/14/2013

2. What rights/protection do patients have in
regards to their healthcare information?
 The Privacy Rule, a Federal law, gives you rights over your health
information and sets rules and limits on who can look at and receive
your health information (U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, n.d.).
 The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) developed regulations protecting the privacy and security of
certain health information. To fulfill this requirement, HHS published
what are commonly known as the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the HIPAA
Security Rule (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.).

3. Confidentiality Breaches Within Healthcare
Organizations
The Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights found that
healthcare organizations were investigated most often in the following
areas (Melamedia, 2013).
 Impermissible uses and disclosures of protected health information




(PHI)
Lack of safeguards of PHI
Lack of patient access to their PHI
Uses or disclosures of more than the Minimum Necessary PHI
Lack of administrative safeguards of electronic PHI.

4. Why Confidentiality Policies & Guidelines Are
Important Within Healthcare Organizations
Healthcare Organization
Employees & Patients
 Organizations must do everything
 Policies help to increase trust
within their power to establish an
ethical foundation for employees to
follow. Doing so can help the
organization prevent expensive
lawsuits and a tarnished
professional reputation within the
community.
 There are 3 disciplinary actions
that organizations must be
concerned with in breaching
confidentiality: institutional
sanctions, civil monetary
penalties, and criminal prosecution
(Carney, 2001, p.145).
between the patient and their
healthcare provider.
 Policies also allow employees the
opportunity to know what behavior
their organization expects of them
and what the consequences will be
when they do not obey the
rules/policies.

5. Training techniques to help employees
understand confidentiality
Organizations can utilize various training methods to ensure that
employees have the proper skills to help them handle workplace issues
dealing with confidentiality.
 Exams
 Hands on learning such as role playing (scenarios)
 Practicing techniques
 Videos

6. Training Techniques
Training Method
Example (s)
Exams
Organizations can provide information
to trainees and test them on their
knowledge of the content. Trainees
are usually required to pass with a
certain %.
Hands on learning/Role Playing
Organization creates scenarios that
deal with breaches and allow trainees
to discuss solutions to prevent future
occurrences.
Practicing techniques
Trainees demonstrates on computer
their knowledge of password
protection/securing patient files.
Videos
Trainees gain knowledge and skills
through viewing videos that present
situations they may face in their work
environment.

7. Empower employees to report breaches &
confidentiality issues
 Upper management must set the foundation to ensure that employees
are comfortable reporting instances of confidentiality breaches and
have an anonymous system for reporting in place.
 Employees should be disciplined when they break the organizations
rules/policies on confidentiality. Will the organization
warn, suspend, or fire employees that are caught violating such
policies?
 Organizations are responsible for providing ongoing training and
support addressing confidentiality within their healthcare
organizations.

8. Conclusion
By providing employees with the foundation that they need to
understand why confidentiality is important within their
healthcare organization, providing the training to help them
gain and practice those skills, and provide an avenue to
report instances involving confidentiality breaches, the
organization will set the foundation to providing a secure
environment for patient’s to receive their healthcare needs.

9. References
Carney, B. M. (2001). Breaches of confidentiality and the electronic
community health record: Challenges for healthcare organizations and the
community. HEC Forum, 13(2), 138-147. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/229340217?accountid=32521
Melamedia. (2013). Updated HIPAA complaint statistics: HIPAA and
breach enforcement statistics for november 2013. Retrieved from
http://www.melamedia.com/HIPAA.Stats.home.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Guidance materials
for consumers. Retrieved from
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.
html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Summary of the
HIPAA security rule. Retrieved from
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/srsummary.html