ACTIVITY 6: ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD
ISSUES
An Electronic Health Record (EHR) is an
electronic version of a patient’s medical history,
maintained by the provider over time, and may
include all of the key administrative clinical data
relevant to that person’s care under a particular
provider, including demographics, progress
notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past
medical history, immunizations, laboratory data
and radiology reports. The EHR automates
access to information and has the potential to
streamline the clinician’s workflow. The EHR
also has the ability to support other care-related
activities directly or indirectly through various
interfaces, including evidence-based decision
support, quality management, and outcomes
reporting.
EHRs are the next step in the continued
progress of healthcare that can strengthen the
relationship between patients and clinicians.
The data, and the timeliness and availability of
it, will enable providers to make better
decisions and provide better care. (Retrieve
from https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/E-
Health/EHealthRecords/index.html)
ACTIVITY 7: INFORMATION SECURITY AND
CONFIDENTIALITY
As Science and Technology advance
and policymakers and healthcare providers
continue to shape health care practices
including information management, it is
paramount that health care professionals
embrace ethical decision making. Health care
profession are trustworthy, honest and ethical
and they understand that they are duly bound
to focus the needs and rights of their patients.
Healthcare professionals need to be familiar
with the goals and purposes of laws governing
information confidentiality, know how it
enhances the security and privacy protections
of Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and
appreciate how it otherwise affects practice in
the emerging electronic health records (EHR).
ACTIVITY 8: REGULATORY AND ACCREDITATION
Information and communications
technology plays a vital role in nation-building
and development of the country. In the
information age, he who holds information
holds power. From macro-economic
perspective, the free flow of information is
concededly vital to the growth of any nation, it
is in the interest of the State to govern the
parameters by which such power will be held,
while at the same time ensuring the free flow of
information to promote innovation and growth.
From the perspective of citizens and
individuals, the State also protects their
fundamental human rights to privacy and
communication. And with the exponentially
increasing availability of ways and means to
access personal data and information, it
becomes the duty of the State to guard against
transgressions of the individual’s rights.
Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise
known as the Data Privacy Act of 2012, is one
formidable piece of legislation. Its application
encompasses all walks of business, from the
banking and finance sector, to labor and human
resources, schools, and even non-profit
organizations. This is of course not to say that
the Data Privacy Act of 2012 finds no application
to individuals and citizens.
On the contrary, the units of
information supplied by individuals and citizens
in the Philippines comprise the whole, which
the Data Privacy Act of 2012 protects. Thus,
access to private and personal information
belonging to individuals is covered by its mantle
of protection in the same and unyielding
manner as trade secrets held by global
conglomerates and multinationals. Data Privacy
Act of 2012 protects all forms of information
that are personal, private and privileged. It
covers all persons, whether natural or juridical,
with particular emphasis to companies or
juridical entities involved in the processing of
protected information. (Retrieve from
http://ndvlaw.com/data-privacy-in-the-
philippines/)