Compilation of papers

Health regulations and law ramification

The healthcare is operating under a license issued by the government, and the technology and privacy Acts apply appropriately. First and foremost, Featherfall has failed due to the non-compliance, which is punishable by law, through hefty fines and cancellation of the license. The technology used must, therefore, be up to date and compliant with the laws and regulations such as HIPAA. The major purpose of the regulations is to ensure that the healthcare facility provides better services to the patients by handling all data and communications through the right channels (Vincent, Niezen, O'Kane, & Stawarz, 2015). The violations if not well handled, can affect the healthcare organization in many ways, such as the financial, the daily operations, and the security of the organization even though all the three sectors are intertwined.

Using the technology that is not up to date or using it inappropriately will lead to healthcare breaches on data. Any data breach can cost the organization up to $380 per record. Among other Civil Money Penalties is the data breach which arises from such mistakes. Medical personnel who are not conversant with the health-related technology may leak another person’s medical data, and the person may go to court as a result for a data breach (Nelson, & Staggers, 2016). Featherfall will have to pay the fine, which will affect its financials. The covered entities in the healthcare include health plans, healthcare clearinghouse, medical prescription, and cared supply must all be done appropriately. To get it right and avoid such fines due to the violation, the technology must be updated once it becomes obsolete, and the personnel should also be trained to be compliant.

The daily operations of the organization will be affected by the violations, for example, if the organization has not updated its technology, the online medical ordering will not be done on time, and the hospital may run out of medicine leading to delays in service delivery (Kramer, Kinn, & Mishkind, 2015). The internal communications rely heavily on the technology use, some urgent situations that need a decision to be made will require using the appropriate technology to communicate, it will not happen, and therefore other delays will be experienced. It is therefore very important to ensure that the technology is up to date and the people are also trained and understand how to use the same (Vincent, Niezen, O'Kane, & Stawarz, 2015). The daily operations include communication, sharing of data between nurses, doctors, and laboratory personnel. If the appropriate technology and technical skill do not well connect the process, the daily operations will be paralyzed.

The world today is referred to as the information age, and criminal activities are carried out over the Internet. If the appropriate technology is not used, it will be easier for cybercriminals to infiltrate the system, and the result will be corporate espionage (Nelson, & Staggers, 2016). If private information is vulnerable, Featherfall’s competitors may use that opportunity to bring down the organization. Leaking information can also attract criminals to take hostage some patients and medical personnel. When a patient has been diagnosed with a deadly disease like HIV/AIDS, the information is regarded as private and confidential. When a malicious third party gets the information, he may demand money from the patient or threaten to “spill the beans.” In a nutshell, therefore, the healthcare organization has no choice but to comply with all the laws and regulations about technology, it will flourish.

References

Kramer, G. M., Kinn, J. T., & Mishkind, M. C. (2015). Legal, regulatory, and risk management issues in the use of technology to deliver mental health care. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 22(3), 258-268.

Nelson, R., & Staggers, N. (2016). Health Informatics-E-Book: An Interprofessional Approach. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Vincent, C. J., Niezen, G., O'Kane, A. A., & Stawarz, K. (2015). Can standards and regulations keep up with health technology? JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 3(2), e64.