Question

Difficulty: EasyConfidentiality and Information Security

Connect the following routine healthcare encounters with the appropriate security protocol required to safeguard protected health information (PHI).

  • A relative calls the nursing unit requesting the latest laboratory results for an admitted client.Verify the caller's identity and authorization using the facility's designated privacy code.
  • A nurse is urgently called to assist another staff member while actively charting in a client's electronic file.Immediately lock the computer screen or log completely out of the system.
  • At the conclusion of the shift, a nurse needs to discard a personal assignment sheet containing client vital signs.Deposit the document directly into the facility's designated secure shredding receptacle.
  • A community member approaches the desk asking if a well-known local official is currently a patient on the floor.State that you cannot confirm or deny the presence of any individual in the facility.

Answer

The proper security protocols are: phone inquiries require privacy codes, unattended computer charts require logging off, physical notes require shredding, and public inquiries regarding patient presence require a refusal to confirm or deny.
Each correct pairing represents the fundamental, required nursing protocol for safeguarding different forms of protected health information (verbal communications, electronic records, physical paperwork, and general admission status) in compliance with standard privacy laws.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Evaluate the protocol for telephone inquiries regarding client data.
Match the phone call scenario with the requirement to verify the caller's identity using a privacy code.
Nurses must ensure they are speaking to an authorized individual before disclosing protected health information verbally.
2
Evaluate the protocol for maintaining electronic health record security during an interruption.
Match the urgent interruption scenario with locking the screen or logging out.
Leaving a charted screen open allows opportunistic viewing by unauthorized individuals, violating information security standards.
3
Evaluate the protocol for disposing of written health information.
Match the assignment sheet scenario with using a secure shredding receptacle.
Placing documents with patient identifiers in standard trash bins is a violation of federal privacy laws.
4
Evaluate the protocol for responding to unauthorized questions about facility admissions.
Match the public inquiry scenario with the statement refusing to confirm or deny.
Simply confirming a client's presence in a healthcare facility is considered a disclosure of protected health information.

Key Concept

Maintaining client confidentiality and information security requires specific, consistent daily actions to protect verbal, electronic, physical, and public relations data.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
Rate this question