Describe four ethical issues that arise when storing electronic information about individuals.
PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY:
Health care institutions, insurance companies, and others will require access to the data if ERs are designed. The key to preserving confidentiality is to allow only authorized individuals to have access to information. This begins with empowering users. The user’s access is based on pre-established role-based privileges. The administrator identifies the user, determines the level of data to be shared, and assigns usernames and passwords. The user should be aware that they will be accountable for using and misuse the information they view. They have access to the information they need to carry out their responsibilities. Hence assigning user privileges is a significant aspect of medical record security.
SECURITY BREACHES
Security breaches threaten patient privacy when confidential information is made available to others without the individual’s consent or authorization.
Security measures such as firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection software must be included to protect data integrity. Specific policies and procedures serve to maintain patient privacy and confidentiality. For example, employees must not share their ID with anyone, always log off when leaving a terminal and use their ID to access digital patient records. The organization must designate a security officer to work with a team of health IT experts.
SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
Health care organizations encounter significant challenges in the course of EHR implementation. These challenges result in wasted resources, frustrated providers, loss of confidence by patients, and patient safety issues.
When any two systems are integrated, an interface is created. By the user interface, we mean an interface between the user and the computer system. These interfaces are critical to the overall success of the implementation process. Interface issues are the most significant system risk because these failures can be invisible initially. Lack of systemic consideration of users and tasks often results in a poor user interface. Poorly designed user interface account for unintended adverse consequence leading to decreased time efficiency, poor quality of care and increased threat to patient safety. Improperly designed user interface fails to deliver the much-needed quality of care, which leads to user dissatisfaction. The faulty user interface issue, which was small earlier on, increases over time, leading to the abandonment of EHR. Maintenance and testing of these interfaces on a routine basis are essential in controlling this significant risk. Practice disruption during EHR implementation can negatively impact the quality of care or endanger patient safety along with financial loss.
DATA INACCURACIES
Integrity assures that the data is accurate and has not been changed. ERs serve as a way to improve the user’s safety by reducing errors, reduce disparities.
Loss or destruction of data occurs during data transfer; this raises concerns about the accuracy of the database as user care decisions are based on them. A growing problem is identity theft. This results in the input of inaccurate information into the record of the victim.
2. Compare cybersecurity risks in the U.S. and another country.
Cybersecurity protects computers, servers, networks, mobile devices, and the data stored in these devices from cyber-attacks and helps each government worldwide to better its infrastructure.
The Comparitech Research Organization presented its most recent assessment of the most essential and least essential cybersecurity nations. The good news is that the score was lower than in recent years, with only six of the sixty countries mentioned last year cutting. The bad news is that the United States is one of them. The United States, like Brazil, France, Iran, Japan, and Singapore, has not improved its cybersecurity condition.
According to the Comparitech report, Algeria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, and Iran are the world’s five least cyber-secure countries. Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, and Japan ranked first and second in terms of security. According to the study, Iran has the highest prevalence of mobile malware, while Finland has the lowest. Belarus had the worst financial malware attacks, while Denmark, Ireland, and Sweden shared top place. China had the most heinous attacks on Telnet, while Turkmenistan had the fewest.
According to Paul Bischoff, editor of Comparitech, the U.S. slipped by twelve points “mainly due to improvements and progress in other countries.” “And the United States is responsible for a significant portion of all telnet attacks worldwide,” Bischoff added. It is not a safer thing, but it is a lot safer. Both were worried about their ratings.
Given the rise of high-tech threats confronting countries such as China, Iran, and Russia, this enormous fall in cybersecurity looks to cause alarm. Naturally, the United States is a sophisticated cyber target. The continued cyber-attacks by Iranians, such as Iran, highlight the importance of cyber-protection. However, this drop does not mean too much in the grand scheme of things: how this cybersecurity rate became its leading figure is dependent on a couple of factors.
The study was carried out by the research organization Comparitech, which took seven characteristics into account in equal measure. The results of the final evaluations have been determined. In the comparison, only seventy-six nations were included, sixteen of which were featured in the initial survey, where data from all seven categories could be analyzed. The primary focus of the study is malware, and this becomes clear very immediately. The first five categories’ results were based on malware data and the percentage of people targeted in 2019.