Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay Example
The two competing needs impacting my healthcare issue include handling of medical data by patients and a small number of cybersecurity professionals.
The handling of medical data by patients has increased. This involves the patients’ advocacy to get in contact with their health records. In response to this, health organizations provide patients with health with medical records upon demand, while other organizations have developed online pages to enable patients to access their data. Nevertheless, allowing patients to access this highly demanded data is sometimes done with no or little cybersecurity precautionary measures being implemented. The majority of the patients are not conscious of the significance of cautiously handling their medical records. Getting the patient to give his or her information on web portals prior to the visit is used by the organization as a strategy for reducing costs while disregarding the information security of the patient (Ayala, 2016). This is the most significant problem that many healthcare organizations encounter Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay Example.
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There are limited skilled cybersecurity professionals in the healthcare organization. The shortage of cybersecurity experts can raise the risk of other staff members’ mistakes, and this has long been claimed to be one of the biggest cyber threats in the business world (Coventry & Branley, 2018). While the gap in skilled cybersecurity personnel is hitting across several sectors, the healthcare sector is being hit hard. The growing demands for health IT usage and its significant utilization have allowed so many health organizations to consider the use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay Example. This has intensified the demand for specialists in Health Information Technology. Our organization has a competing need to recruit more cybersecurity specialists to close the gap existing in the protection of organizations in the event of a cyber attack. The organization’s lack of security may cause harm to the organization, including loss of patient information and sensitive data. However, healthcare IT may not be easy because it requires a massive data sharing between different individuals and other sectors. This sector’s complexity necessitates specialists with sufficient expertise and experience to recognize any cyber-attack before it happens. As such, investment in technology and human resources is necessary for the healthcare organization to protect the elevated market value data they work with.
The Relevant Policies in the Organization that may Influence the Selected Healthcare Issue
Two policies have positively impacted the cybersecurity of the organization. They include precise cybersecurity accountability and education on cybersecurity.
Our healthcare organization’s obligation is precise. Cybersecurity staff, which is responsible for protecting organizational networks and systems from cyber attacks, have been put in place. The selected cybersecurity specialists are charged with managing cybersecurity matters and prioritizing them. These experts are able to define, fulfill, control, and protect the organization Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay Example.
Additionally, the organization has built a secure culture through education of healthcare providers on the safety of medical data ensuring that all healthcare workers have roles in cybersecurity. New staff members are also educated about the standard procedures to examine when using computers and organizational software. Furthermore, the organization has created concerns to the employees about the harmful effects of cyber attacks and the harm it can pose to the organization, and the patients. This policy has helped to keep our organization safe.
Policy Critique for Ethical Considerations, and the Policy’s Strengths and Challenges in Promoting Ethics
The accountability and education policies emanate from an ethical point of view. By ensuring precise accountability and providing education, the organization’s cybersecurity will be well looked after. Hence, the medical data of the patient will be kept private. Confidentiality is an ethical issue that has been established by the organization to protect the disclosure of any patient healthcare records that includes all their personal details. Protecting this right is crucial in the delivery of healthcare as it creates trust between the organization and the patients (Jalali & Kaiser, 2018). Our organization exhibits the fullest care in regards to dealing with patients’ both personal and medical information by facilitating access to, and the use of this information is heavily restricted to what is crucial for quality healthcare for patients Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay Example.
Patients are permitted to view their healthcare records and insist on accessing this vital information. Nevertheless, this is a challenge for the organization because if their computers are not well protected, patient details may be accessible. Therefore, it is necessary for our organization to raise concerns the patients about the significance of cybersecurity.
Recommendation of Policy Changes Designed to Balance the Competing needs of Resources, Workers, and Patients, and the Possible Ethical Shortcomings of the Existing Policies
One policy that I will recommend is to have sufficient resources in the organization to fund cybersecurity. Essential supplies are required to secure data and networks consistently.
Another policy is the use of technology like blockchain in order to record transactions in a provable manner effectively. Individual financial companies have put this strategy onboard. In our organization, blockchain can be used to secure healthcare data of patients and any unverified disclosure of personal information.
Evidence That Informs the Healthcare Issue/Stressor and/or the Policies, and Two Scholarly Resources in Support of Your Policy or Practice Recommendations
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In an article about “Blockchain as a foundation for sharing healthcare data. Blockchain in Healthcare Today by Cyran,” the use of blockchain is recommended. The article suggests that using blockchain will ensure the protection of confidential medical data. According to the article, blockchain can be widely powered to enhance the storage of data and to secure the patients’ personal information. This technology is used to consciously-sustain the value chain of healthcare. It is crucial to know this because several healthcare organizations are also trying to discover the technology’s full potential Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay Example.
The study “The state of research on cyberattacks against hospitals and available best practice recommendations: a scoping review.” conducted by Argaw, Bempong, Eshaya-Chauvin & Flahault, provides suggestions along with measures of curtailing cyber threats particularly in hospitals. The authors suggest that it is necessary to raise awareness about the significance of cybersecurity of healthcare information among end-users. According to the authors, it is crucial to educate the end-users on the effect of cyber threats and encourage them to put complex passwords in all their devices. The authors also add that devices should never be left unattended and should not be connected to public internet connections.
References
Argaw, S. T., Bempong, N. E., Eshaya-Chauvin, B., & Flahault, A. (2019). The state of research on cyberattacks against hospitals and available best practice recommendations: a scoping review. BMC medical informatics and decision making, 19(1), 1-11.
Ayala, L. (2016). Cybersecurity for Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities. Berkeley, CA.
Coventry, L., & Branley, D. (2018). Cybersecurity in healthcare: a narrative review of trends, threats and ways forward. Maturitas, 113, 48-52.
Cyran, M. A. (2018). Blockchain as a foundation for sharing healthcare data. Blockchain in Healthcare Jalali, M. S., & Kaiser, J. P. (2018). Cybersecurity in hospitals: a systematic, organizational perspective. Journal of medical Internet research, 20(5), e10059 Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay Example.
Quadruple Aim
Quadruple Aim is an approach to health care that is intended to optimize system performance. It addressed four objectives. Firstly, it seeks to improve patient experiences by enhancing the quality of care they receive and increasing focus on individual patients and their families. It is concerned with the aspects of objective and subjective experiences among patients to achieve effective and high-quality care. This objective has six domains: equity, efficiency, timeliness, patient-centeredness, effectiveness, and safety. It offers patients the tools to understand their medical condition, manage their care, and improve outcomes. Secondly, it seeks to improve health care outcomes. It anticipates that more knowledgeable patients will have improved experiences and the ability to effectively manage their health. Thirdly, it seeks to lower health care costs through improving population health without compromising care quality. This is intended to occur through improving population health so that individuals visit medical facilities less frequently and ensuring that care is affordable. Finally, it seeks to improve the clinical experience. Unlike the previous three objectives that focus on the patients, this final objective focuses on medical personnel. It acknowledges that care providers are under tremendous pressure to deliver on the other objectives and this is likely to increase health care costs, reduce health outcomes, lower patient satisfaction, higher burnout, and lower staff engagement. Improved clinical experience is expected to address these concerns (Health, 2019; Sikka, Morath & Leape, 2015). The present paper discusses strategies for addressing Cybersecurity concerns in the face of increasing electronic health records (EHR) adoptions as a step towards achieving the Quadruple Aim.
Description of the national health care issue
The health care system has traditionally guarded access to medical records so that patients are not able to address them. However, recent plans have sought to intensify patient involvement in their health care by allowing greater access to medical records through EHR. In fact, EHR is increasingly being adopted by medical organizations owing to legislative requirements as well as the value of improving the patients’ visibility of their medical records. The advantages of EHR are derived from its ability to streamline communication and centralize medical records. These benefits are expected to grow as technical advancement in health care and information technology continue (Ayala, 2016) Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay Example.
Although EHR is a tremendous asset since it improves efficiency and accessibility of important medical information, it presents some security concerns. With many health care organizations moving towards EHR, it becomes easier to share medical records among the different providers through the internet or any other connection type. However, it equally becomes easier for non-providers to illegally gain access to the same medical records through the connections. The occurrence of these security breaches have serious implications for the health care organization since it does not only points to HIPAA and confidentiality violations, but also exposes their patients to disastrous consequences such as information blackmail and identity theft. This awareness creates a need to understand and implement the best cybersecurity approaches so that EHR helps in achieving the best care and privacy practice with minimal danger. Through this awareness, medical organizations can take the necessary steps to ensure that their EHR systems are as secure as possible (Ayala, 2016)Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay Example.
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Articles summary
Kruse et al. (2017) presents the results of a review into the security techniques for EHR. It acknowledges that although EHR has much potential for improving health care, privacy and security remains a barrier to its adoption. The authors note that the current legal regulations demand that these privacy and security concerns must be addressed even as EHR is implemented. Towards this end, the article analyzed and discussed prominent security techniques that health care organizations can adopt to secure their EHR systems. The article goes on to identify the security measures and techniques based on three themes: technical, physical, and administrative safeguards. The article concludes by mentioning that the nature of health care records demands that security be considered a priority in EHR (Kruse et al., 2017).
Ronquillo et al. (2018) explores the trends surrounding the security breaches that involved medical records in the USA. The authors note that health information technology is rapidly being adopted in the USA. However, this rapid adoption is matched by increasing reports of hacking and ransomware. This state of affairs creates a need for Cybersecurity to be prioritized within the health care industry. The article concludes that health information technology infrastructure can only provide the best value if they are secure, safe and effective, and this can only be achieved through improving Cybersecurity (Ronquillo et al., 2018) Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay Example.
EHR Cybersecurity strategies
Five security tools have been suggested to improve Cybersecurity of EHR. The first tool is endpoint protection that would make all devices with access to the EHR visible while segmenting their data permissions. This would help in identifying unauthorized devices with access to the EHR, and ensuring that each device only accesses the needed information. The second tool is web application security such as firewall that would ensure that vulnerable web applications are not leverages to compromise EHR security. The third tool is internal segmentation firewalls that segment the data so that security breaches in one segment do not compromise information in other segments. The fourth tool is encryption to ensure that medical records cannot be intercepted and read while on transit in the internet. The fifth tool is secure access so that only authorized persons who are cleared can access the information in the EHR (Hasib, 2014). The identified tools are necessary for EHR cybersecurity. Through implementing the five tools, the facility would improve its EHR security and partially achieve the Quadruple Aim by improving patient experiences Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay Example.
References
Ayala, L. (2016). Cybersecurity for Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities: A Guide to Detection and Prevention. New York, NY: APress/Springer.
Hasib, M. (2014). Cybersecurity Leadership: Powering the Modern Organization. New York, NY: Tomorrow’s Strategy Today, LLC.
Health, P. (2019). What is the Quadruple Aim and What Role Does it Play in Healthcare? Retrieved from https://www.privishealth.com/chronic-care-management/quadruple-aim-role-in-healthcare/
Kruse, C., Smith, B., Venderlinden, H. & Nealand, A. (2017). Security Techniques for the Electronic Health Records. Journal of Medical Systems, 41(8), 127. DOI: 10.1007/s10916-017-0778-4
Ronquillo, J., Winterholler, J., Cwikla, K., Szymanski, R. & Levy, C. (2018). Health IT, hacking, and cybersecurity: national trends in data breaches of protected health information. JAMIA Open, 1(1), 15–19. DOI: 10.1093/jamiaopen/ooy019
Sikka, R., Morath, J. & Leape, L. (2015). The Quadruple Aim: care, health, cost and meaning in work. BMJ Quality & Safety, 24, 608-610. DOI: 10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004160 Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay Example
Assignment: Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Competing needs arise within any organization as employees seek to meet their targets and leaders seek to meet company goals. As a leader, successful management of these goals requires establishing priorities and allocating resources accordingly. Within a healthcare setting, the needs of the workforce, resources, and patients are often in conflict. Mandatory overtime, implementation of staffing ratios, use of unlicensed assisting personnel, and employer reductions of education benefits are examples of practices that might lead to conflicting needs in practice. Leaders can contribute to both the problem and the solution through policies, action, and inaction. In this Assignment, you will further develop the white paper you began work on in Module 1 by addressing competing needs within your organization. To Prepare: Review the national healthcare issue/stressor you examined in your Assignment for Module 1, and review the analysis of the healthcare issue/stressor you selected. Identify and review two evidence-based scholarly resources that focus on proposed policies/practices to apply to your selected healthcare issue/stressor. Reflect on the feedback you received from your colleagues on your Discussion post regarding competing needs. The Assignment (4-5 pages): Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Add a section to the paper you submitted in Module 1. The new section should address the following: Identify and describe at least two competing needs impacting your selected healthcare issue/stressor. Describe a relevant policy or practice in your organization that may influence your selected healthcare issue/stressor. Critique the policy for ethical considerations, and explain the policy’s strengths and challenges in promoting ethics. Recommend one or more policy or practice changes designed to balance the competing needs of resources, workers, and patients, while addressing any ethical shortcomings of the existing policies. Be specific and provide examples. Cite evidence that informs the healthcare issue/stressor and/or the policies, and provide two scholarly resources in support of your policy or practice recommendations.