Please create a response to my classmate posting that I will list below.

APA format*** 2 paragraphs for the response below***at least 4-5 sentences each paragraph***2 References**

My Classmates posting is below:

Every nurse has a professional and moral responsibility to every patient she cares for. With the explosion of social media along with information technology, the need to protect patient’s right to privacy has become of upmost importance. (McGonigle, Mastrian, 2015) This translates to not only abiding by ethical principles but also the legal implications associated with confidentiality breeches. Nurses are put in numerous ethical dilemmas in their careers but proper judgment can protect the nurse as well as the facility in which she is employed. Information technology has increased the risk to confidentiality and according to (Brown, 2009), healthcare professionals have obligations to safeguard health information so that unauthorized use, disclosure and access cannot occur.

Security Issues and Portable Devices

According to (Barrett, 2011.), mobile devices create a risk of personal health information (PHI) disclosures because of how these devices store memory. These devices store memory within the computer‘s memory, a SIM card or memory chip. The record of the data is stored on that device. And also, as mentioned, mobile devices do not use encryption servers that can aid in privacy. The article also mentioned that a survey of 600 U.S. health facilities showed that 66% reported theft related data breech because of these devices. Also the use of a clinician’s personal mobile device, authentication without passwords, lack of encryption, public Wi-Fi and unsecure cellular networks can also put patients at risk with these mobile devices.

Safeguards at My Organization

My organization promotes a culture of safety by the numerous ways PHI is protected. If you work from home, it is required that you write on dry erase boards and no passwords can be written down. These passwords are also changed numerous times throughout the year. While working from home, you must have a designated room for a home office, it must be behind a door that locks, the computer equipment cannot sit near a window and the computer must be locked when you walk away. This also applies while working in the office. There are mandatory periodic home inspections for compliance and they only give you a 45 minute time frame before inspection. Also, while talking to patients various patient identifiers are used before any conversation is started.

Area Where Improvement is Needed

An area where improvement is needed in my organization is the utilization of portable laptops by leadership staff. They carry these computers everywhere so that they can track telephonic compliance as well as emails, etc. They sometimes take them to lunch as well. I feel that these portable devices are targets for thieves once they leave the premises. I feel that the one that is used for work should stay at work and the one that is utilized for home use should stay at home. It is the constant transporting of these devices that puts the company at risk for data breeches.

Brown, B. (2009). Improving the privacy and security of personal health records. Journal of Health Care Compliance, 11(2), 39–40, 68.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2015). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.

Barrett, C. (2011). Healthcare Providers may violate HIPAA by using mobile devices to communicate with patients. ABA Health Esource. 8(2). Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/newsletter/publication…