Answer to Question 1
ANS: D, E
When you are a student in a clinical setting, confidentiality and compliance with HIPAA are part of professional practice. Reading the progress notes of an assigned patient's record and giving a change-of-shift report to the oncoming nurse about the patient are behaviors that follow HIPAA and confidentiality guidelines. Do not share information with other patients or health care team members who are not caring for a patient. Not only is it unethical to view medical records of other patients, but breaches of confidentiality lead to disciplinary action by employers and dismissal from work or nursing school. To protect patient confidentiality, ensure that written materials used in your student clinical practice do not include patient identifiers (e.g., room number, date of birth, demographic information), and never print material from an electronic health record for personal use.
Answer to Question 2
ANS: B, D, E, F
When faxing, use programmed speed-dial keys to eliminate the chance of a dialing error and misdirected information. An automatic sign-off is a safety mechanism that logs a user off the computer system after a specified period of inactivity. Disciplinary action, including loss of employment, occurs when nurses or other health care personnel inappropriately access patient information. All papers containing PHI (e.g., Social Security number, date of birth or age, patient's name or address) must be destroyed immediately after you use or fax them. Most agencies have shredders or locked receptacles for shredding and incineration. Strong passwords use combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols that are difficult to guess. A firewall is a combination of hardware and software that protects private network resources (e.g., the information system of the hospital) from outside hackers, network damage, and theft or misuse of information and should not be bypassed.