WE CAN 4

1 WE CAN, BUT DARE WE? Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation

2 Introduction Personnel in the healthcare industry are entrusted with a vast array of sensitive patient data. Due to the abundance of available information, medical professionals can act at their own discretion. We possess the capability, but do we possess the courage to use it? Particularly nurses are responsible for providing continuous treatment to their patients. They spend the most time getting to know each patient, and as a result, patients are willing to discuss every aspect of their lives. It is uncertain, particularly in this highly modern era, what should be done with the quantity of available data. We can now access technology using our fingertips. Technology advancements make possible improvements in patient care, education, and evidence-based practice. The publication of sensitive patient information can be exploited, endangering our patients. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is designed to safeguard patient confidentiality (Stadler, 2021). HIPAA violations occur when sensitive patient data is lost or misappropriated from healthcare organizations' electronic systems. Unfortunately, HIPAA is frequently violated, and sensitive information is exposed, frequently by those whose responsibility it is to protect it. HIPAA, Legal, and Regulatory Discussion "The privacy and security rules contained in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) represent a concerted effort to protect the privacy and security of the massive volumes of patient data generated by the health care system," explains Johnson (2019). In August 1996, President Bill Clinton signed HIPAA into law (Mohammed et al., 2019). HIPAA protects patient information including names, dates of birth, and addresses. The HIPAA safeguards medical records.

4 and legal action. In this instance, the nurse is likely to lose her job and have her license suspended. The nurse did not sell the photographs to Gossip Gazette, but she did remove them and give them to a friend who then furnished them to the magazine. She violated HIPAA by disclosing patient information without their consent. "Nursing has always been synonymous with compassion," according to a recent study, "but today's nurses face increasingly complex ethical issues" (Mottaghi et al., 2020). Professional nursing is based on a commitment to quality patient care and compassion. The ANA established a strict code of ethics that all nurses must adhere to. The nurse was terminated for violating the ethical code by photographing and displaying patients. The nurse violated the hospital's policy, the NPA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the American Nurses Association's code of ethics. Advantages and Disadvantages Technology has the ability to both enhance and degrade healthcare. It may provide patients and clinicians with limitless resources in the right hands. Unfortunately, not every candidate is altruistic. When technology is abused, it can jeopardize the career and workplace of a healthcare provider. Technology has the capability of enhancing health care. It facilitates the collection of data (Haleem et al., 2021). Advancements in technology are necessary for research and evidence- based practice. According to Haleem et al. (2021), "by amassing and refining mobile and social media data from a large group of individuals, we can create algorithms to predict the development of a disease, predict healthcare utilization, track the spread of infectious illness, study health communication, and target public health messaging interventions." Social

5 networking has numerous health advantages. Several reputable medical information providers use social media to expand their reach. Social media platforms are becoming indispensable for collaboration and communication in the medical field. According to Crane and Gardner (2016), photo sharing is expanding within the pathology community. This content will benefit pathologists, medical students, patients, and the general public. Doctors utilize Academia and ResearchGate to discuss patient concerns and to discover new employment opportunities. The advantages and disadvantages of technology stem from patient privacy concerns. The advancements in healthcare technology now enable more sophisticated infiltration attempts. Eighty million Americans' medical information was compromised by Anthem. One out of every nine Americans has their identity stolen. The 2014 attacks on Sony, Target, Home Depot, Android, and Apple resulted in the theft of consumer information. Social media and smart phones make it more challenging to separate patient privacy from personal life. Nurses must avoid congestion in routine photographs. The presence of a patient during the uploading of a photograph to the Internet could pose a problem. The worst-case scenario is if someone they know online recognizes them. Is this a violation of your personal space? Regardless of comprehension, this violates the patient's right to privacy. Therefore, medical professionals must utilize technology with caution when treating patients. Conclusion In the medical sphere, technology may have both beneficial and negative consequences. It is an excellent instrument for increasing public awareness, locating social support networks, establishing new acquaintances, and even job hunting. Unfortunately, technology may be used to inadvertently or intentionally violate the privacy of patients by gaining unauthorized access to their personal information. It is always inappropriate to photograph a patient with a smartphone,

7 References Haleem, A., Javaid, M., Singh, R. P., & Suman, R. (2021). Telemedicine for healthcare: Capabilities, features, barriers, and applications.   Sensors international ,   2 , 100117. Herrett, E., Gallagher, A. M., Bhaskaran, K., Forbes, H., Mathur, R., Van Staa, T., & Smeeth, L. (2015). Data resource profile: clinical practice research datalink (CPRD).   International journal of epidemiology ,   44 (3), 827-836. Johnson, S. (2019). Safeguarding Against Data Breaches. Mohammed, B., Ramadhin, R., & Sacco, G. (2019). Preventing Insider Threats to HIPAA. Mottaghi, S., Poursheikhali, H., & Shameli, L. (2020). Empathy, compassion fatigue, guilt and secondary traumatic stress in nurses.   Nursing ethics ,   27 (2), 494-504. Nettrour, J. F., Burch, M. B., & Bal, B. S. (2019). Patients, pictures, and privacy: managing clinical photographs in the smartphone era.   Arthroplasty Today ,   5 (1), 57-60. Smith, R. J., Grande, D., & Merchant, R. M. (2016). Transforming scientific inquiry: Tapping into digital data by building a culture of transparency and consent.   Academic medicine: journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges ,   91 (4), 469. Solomon, M. R., & Tuten, T. L. (2017). Social media marketing.   Social Media Marketing , 1-448. Stadler, A. (2021). The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and its Impact on Privacy and Confidentiality in Healthcare. Ventola, C. L. (2014). Mobile devices and apps for health care professionals: uses and benefits.   Pharmacy and Therapeutics ,   39 (5), 356.