As the humans evolved they began developing newer technologies for improving their quality of life. However, while every new concepts improved the quality of life to a certain extent, there was always a hitch that accompanied it. This holds true in the concepts of health technologies wherein one person’s gain can be another person’s pain. Additionally, there is also a threat of becoming vulnerable in many situations. This is especially true with Privacy.
Privacy
Privacy is generally associated with several other concepts such as autonomy, dignity, spirituality, trust, and liberty. Every person has a right to privacy which can be simple expressed as “the right to be let alone.” This concept has been applied to all areas and healthcare is not devoid of this wherein every patient has the right of privacy regarding his/her health or disease details.
How technology can encourage privacy
The improvements in the information technologies have increased the avenues for maintaining the privacy to a great extent. From the invention of telephones where one can avoid a face to face interview to the use of barcodes where personal information can be easily masked, technology has helped all. One of the concerns in the healthcare industry is the access to patient’s health records. Newer technologies offer services such as use of firewalls, encryption software and password protected data to ensure the privacy of the patients’ data. The electronic transfer of data can ensure that this data is not accessible by everybody while permitting only the concerned individuals to access such data. Additionally, the users can also choose the accessibility of data wherein they can restrict others from viewing certain important data.
The companies or organizations offering such services are generally bound by the laws of the region which restricts them from sharing such data about the patient with others without the consent of the patient.
Threats to privacy
While the implementation of newer technology can ensure safety of personal data, there are several ways in which the privacy of an individual can be lost. The service provider should maintain a strict and secure online portal to ensure that it is not accessible by everybody. Any breach in maintaining certain basics can lead to easy access to personal records without anybody’s knowledge.
The user or the patient has to rely on the healthcare provider or the organization for the privacy related to the health records. While governing organizations do have a control on the way patient data is accessed or shared, there are several loopholes in the system. Additionally, such rules and regulations may not be applicable in all regions. This leaves the patients’ privacy vulnerable to those who would like to exploit such situations.
HIPAA (and now HITECH) is a set of laws that deal with the privacy of the patient. The applicability of HIPAA’s privacy protections is based on the kind of entity or organization that processes a health care record. In simple terms, while the rules of HIPAA protect the records formed at health care provider settings (such as hospital, physician, pharmacist, etc.) it may not be protected if the person or business handling such records is not covered under HIPAA rules.
In conclusion, as the saying “two sides of a coin” goes, every technology has its own boons and banes, wherein it is ultimately left to the user to determine whether such facilities are useful or not. Nevertheless, implementing proper guidelines and rules to govern such concerns can protect one’s privacy until a long time.
