According to Patlak and Levit (2009), as the older generation of physicians move
into retirement, there is an increased shortage of younger physicians who are conduct
general service and who are on-call. Physicians now either work part time or within their
specialty, which further increases healthcare demand. Patlak and Levit (2009) state that
“as the difference between supply and demand grows, people will lose access to needed
services, and both care and quality can drop. Underserved communities are more at risk
due to the limited shortage in resources. A decrease in quality healthcare and staffing
resources can make following HIPAA regulations difficult. In clinical shortages, patient
PHI can be accessed several times by multiple people due to physician turnover, therefore
increasing any chances of human error while accessing patient information in their
electronic health records.
((((((((((((((( Another reason that health care shortages make it difficult for health care
administrators to meet and implement federal rulings is due to lack of opportunities for
effective training (Derksen & Whelan, 2010). Whether training is required for clinical or
clerical staff, it may be difficult for new health care workers to learn their roles effectively
in an environment that cannot promote learning because the team is focused on prioritizing
the patients. Instead of having the time and space to learn the new role and responsibilities,
newer employees may be thrown into the workflow to work with patients and CAN
increase the risk of errors when dealing with patients. This is another instance of where
HIPAA regulations can be violated due to mishandling of patients, or patient information.
The pressure to serve more patients without regard to proper training is a disservice to
patients and results in poor quality of care.
(
References
1. Derksen, D. J., & Whelan, E. (2010).(Closing the health care workforce gap. Center
for American Progress. Retrieved February 22, 2022,
from(https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2010/01/pdf/
health_care_workforce.pdf
2. Patlak, M., & Levit, L. (2009). “Ensuring quality cancer care through the oncology
workforce”. The National Academies Press. Institute Of Medicine.
