Ethical Regulations and Laws That Guide Human Services Practitioners
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Ethical Regulations and Laws That Guide Human Services Practitioners
Human services practitioners are increasingly critical in providing help to individuals in society. However, in exercising their duties, human services workers ought to safeguard clients’ confidentiality. In this backdrop, this paper analyzes the ethical guidelines that guide the field of human services.
NOHS Ethical Regulations and Laws
Ethical Standards
Notably, standards three and four are the two National Organization of Human Services (NOHS) ethical guidelines linked with the release of patient’s health data in the human services profession. Standard three stipulates that human services workers have an obligation to safeguards clients’ right to privacy and discreetness save for instances where the protection of a patient’s privacy would lead to significant danger to the individual or third parties. The exemption is also permitted when agency regulations have special provisions or under circumstances provided by local, state, or federal legislation (National Organization of Human Services, n.d.). The guideline further states that human services workers should inform patients of the limitations of client confidentiality before the start of the assisting relationship. Similarly, standard four stipulates that when it is perceived there is a danger of an adverse outcome to the patient or other persons, the human service practitioner ought to act in a suitable and professional approach to safeguard the safety of the concerned people. Under this condition, the human service professional may seek supervision, consultation, or break the confidentiality between him/her and the client (National Organization of Human Services, n.d.). It is worth noting that the rationale for identifying the applicable standards was determined by looking at standards that seek to protect the privacy of clients. To this end, the two ethical standards provide the guidelines for the disclosure of a client’s data in human services practice.
Legal Issues
Legal issues associated with the release of health records entail the provision of health information for administration and litigation purposes. It is worth noting that the provision of health data is geared towards the fair administration of justice. However, the divulgence of an individual’s health records ought to adhere to the stipulated guidelines, which emphasize the protection of a client’s privacy. According to Davis (2019), HIPAA regulations allow the unveiling of a patient’s health records for judicial purposes. Any uncovering of a patient’s health data without adherence to appropriate procedures is legally punishable.
Legal Ramifications for Improper Disclosure of Health Records
Inappropriate release of an individual’s health information has serious legal consequences. The Office of Civil Rights is tasked with the enforcement of HIPAA guidelines whereby improper disclosure of a client’s health information attracts civil liability, which is punishable by fines or imprisonment (Arnold & Boggs, 2019). Over recent years, there has been a significant rise in the number of prosecutions relating to HIPAA privacy violations. For instance, in 2014, an employee in a Texas health organization was sentenced for 18 months imprisonment after pleading guilty for improperly accessing a patient’s health records with the intent of applying it for personal benefit (Murphy, Angelini, & Shwartz, 2018). Therefore, the mentioned case illustrates that inappropriate release of a client’s health information attracts legal liability.
Compliance Challenges
While appropriate laws and regulations exist, agencies and hospitals experience significant challenges when complying with these guidelines. One of the main challenges to compliance is the lack of data privacy and security awareness among healthcare practitioners. A recent research finding indicated that approximately 78% of healthcare workers lack knowledge of common privacy and security threat situations (Snell, 2018). Among the individuals interviewed, 25% of physicians and other health workers lacked knowledge of phishing email awareness (Snell, 2018). In the same vein, 8% of non-provider workers, including office employees, demonstrated a lack of awareness on the same aspect (Snell, 2018). Moreover, 24% of healthcare workers had difficulties in the identification of common signs of malware (Snell, 2018). This finding indicates that a significant population of healthcare workers put their hospitals at substantial risk for a privacy violation or security incident. The phenomenon is worrying considering that Wombat’s 2018 State of the Phish Report established that 75% of entities encountered phishing attacks in 2017 (Snell, 2018). Therefore, the lack of staff awareness on privacy and security is a major challenge that hospitals and agencies experience regarding compliance with established laws and regulations.
Similarly, evolving technology and regulatory environment also possess challenges in HIPAA compliance. In a survey conducted by Snell (What are Top HIPAA Compliance Concerns, 2016), 28% of the participants reported that the constantly changing regulatory environment creates difficulties in adhering to privacy regulations. For this reason, hospitals and agencies need to constantly update employees with the latest regulatory changes to promote compliance.
Preparation for the Divulgence of Health Data to a Court
It is worth noting that while HIPAA privacy rules forbid the uncovering of an individual’s health information, it allows the divulgence of an individual’s health records in judicial proceedings. The revealing of patient’s health data is guided by the need for the fair administration of justice. In this line, I will prepare for the uncovering of health records in court by ascertaining that the court order is genuine. I will also identify the specific information to be released. Normally, a court order provides express authorization of the type of health records to be disclosed (Davis, 2019). In addition, in preparation for court, I will check to ensure that the format is in tandem with state legal requisites for a valid court order. I will also evaluate and ascertain that federal legislation and guidelines have been met, and no problem arises with state statutes. To this end, I will verify compliance with the appropriate state regulations before releasing the requested health record. Furthermore, I will assess to understand if a written approval from the client is a necessity before the divulgence of health data or the court order’s request calls for the de-identification of information before sharing to third parties. In the same approach that I embrace before providing a patient’s health information to a court, organizations and agencies ought to determine that the process of responding to the court order is in line with the relevant federal and state laws concerning the unveiling of an individual’s health records. This method ensures that hospitals and their staff adhere to applicable stipulations toward the uncovering of a patient’s health data.
Case Review
Records to be Provided to the Parole Officer
According to Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), human service professionals and other health practitioners are prohibited from releasing information concerning the treatment of a drug use problem in non-treatment environments, such as criminal and administrative proceedings (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, n.d.). The information barred from disclosure includes any health record that would lead to the identification of a patient as one who has previously received or is currently receiving substance abuse help from a federally supported program. Any health information that would identify a client for receiving can only be provided to other parties under the provision of written approval from the patient (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, n.d.). In this backdrop, Stephanie is not permitted to reveal any form of Kevin’s health data to the officer because the officer expressly seeks drug-related information, such as Kevin’s diagnosis and healthcare workers providing care to him. Notably, the security officer is seeking these records for administrative purposes, which established regulations prohibit disclosure.
Legal Ramifications for Improper Release of a Patient’s Health Data
Besides the stipulations under part 2, regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) also apply to care offered to patients with drug-related problems. To this end, inappropriate divulgence of health data attracts legal liability to both the human services policy analyst as well as the concerned organization. Notably, HIPAA only allows the revelation of a patient’s health data under the provision of a court order or a subpoena requesting for a client’s health records (Davis, 2019). In the case of the parole personnel, there is no court order or subpoena that authorizes the release of Kevin’s health data. For this reason, the human services policy analyst will either be required to pay a fine or sentenced to imprisonment for a period determined by the courts. In the same vein, Stephanie’s organization is likely to be fined for violating HIPAA rules. The civil liability illustrates the need for human services professionals and organizations that they work for to adhere to the provided HIPAA privacy regulations.
Ethical Issues Concerning the Improper Uncovering of a Client’s Health Records
The ethical concerns, which are likely to arise to the human service worker and the entity are concerned with the violation of privacy rights. Standard three for human services practitioners stipulates the need to safeguard clients’ privacy and confidentiality save for instances when the protection of the patient’s confidentiality may lead to adverse outcomes to the client or other persons (National Organization of Human Services, n.d.). The infringement of a patient’s privacy rights is a serious ethical issue, which is likely to attract fines or imprisonment to both the human services personnel and the entity where she works. In this line, the identified ethical issue can be mitigated by ensuring that the revelation of an individual’s health records is in line with the established regulations. The organization can push for adherence to clients’ privacy and confidentiality regulations through the provision of adequate training to its workforce.
Other Issues to be Considered
While ethical standards that guide human service professionals bar the releases of a client’s health information regarding the use of drugs, it provides various exceptions under which a patient’s right to confidentiality may be broken, especially when the patient’s conduct poses a threat of harm to himself or herself and other persons. Standard four of the ethical regulations that guide human service practitioners stipulate that if the patient’s behavior is a danger to himself and third parties, the human service practitioner should act professionally to safeguard the well-being of the concerned persons (National Organization of Human Services, n.d.). Under this condition, the human services professional is allowed to seek supervision, confidentiality, or break the confidentiality of the relationship. For this reason, it is appropriate for Stephanie to evaluate if Kevin’s behavioral conduct presents a threat to him or other individuals. The presence of a threatening behavior, such as aggression to other people will necessitate the divulgence of Kevin’s health data to the parole personnel. However, the absence of any threatening conduct will imply that Stephanie ought not to provide any health data to the parole worker without Kevin’s consent. This approach will ensure that Stephanie complies with NOHS ethical guidelines that govern the field of human services.
Conclusion
From the analysis, the most important ethical concerns to be addressed in a healthcare environment are the protection of a client’s right to privacy and discreetness. The emphasis of this aspect is informed by the fact that the helping relationship between a patient and health practitioner/human service professional is based on trust, which allows the client to provide personal information and experiences that help in the provision of appropriate care. The laws critical to the uncovering of a patient’s healthcare records to a court include provisions stipulated under title 42 of the CFR as well as HIPAA privacy regulations. Both of these laws forbid the divulgence of a patient’s health data to court proceedings except in cases where a court order or subpoena makes a formal request for the disclosure. In line with privacy rules, a human services agency can mitigate lawsuits arising from the violation of HIPAA regulations by providing adequate training to its staff. The training should offer a deeper explanation of HIPAA laws and technological awareness on the identification of phishing attacks and signs of malware. Notably, while hospitals have made a significant effort in complying with HIPAA privacy guidelines, the unintentional release of patients’ health records through cyber-attacks is becoming a major challenge to organizations. Furthermore, when preparing to provide health information to a court, human service practitioners should ascertain that a court order is valid and only the specified data is disclosed (Davis, 2019). In addition, the human services professional should review federal and state guidelines to ensure that the release of a client’s health records does not conflict with the state statutes. Taking these considerations will ensure compliance with the relevant privacy regulations concerning the divulgence of a patient’s health data to a court.
References
Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2019). Interpersonal relationships e-book: Professional communication skills for nurses (8th ed.). St. Louis, MI: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Davis, N. A. (2019). Foundations of health information management – e-book. St. Louis, MI: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Murphy, A. M., Angelini, L. B., & Shwartz, J. (2018, July 2). Criminal prosecution for violating HIPAA: An emerging threat to health care professionals. Retrieved from https://www.statnews.com/2018/07/02/criminal-prosecution-violating-hipaa/
National Organization of Human Services. (n.d.). Ethical standards for human services professionals. Retrieved from https://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethics
Snell, E. (2016, January 25). What are top HIPAA compliance concerns, obstacles? Retrieved from https://healthitsecurity.com/news/what-are-top-hipaa-compliance-concerns-obstacles
Snell, E. (2018, February 6). 78% of healthcare workers lack data privacy, security preparedness. Retrieved from https://healthitsecurity.com/news/78-of-healthcare-workers-lack-data-privacy-security-preparedness
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (n.d.). Disclosure of substance use disorder patient records: Does part 2 apply to me? Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/does-part2-apply.pdf