Information Sensitivity and Protection of Data - Essay Example

INFORMATION SENSITIVITY AND PROTECTION OF DATA Obvious themes common among each organizations policies Scanning through the information protection policies of the various organizations, there are some key themes that run through almost all of them. First of such themes touches on the access that patients get on protected health information collected about them. In this regard, each of the organizations identifies the patient as the sole owner of the health information collected about him or her (Mayo Foundation, 2002).

As the legal owner of the information, patients are considered by the various organizations as having total control as to how the information collected about them are going to be used and in what manner they are going to be used. More importantly, public access to information collected on patients is an instrumental component of the themes because all the organizations give recognition to the fact that people information are the private ownership of the patients, the information cannot be put out to public domain without necessary due course and procedure followed (Fielding.

, Teutsch and Koh, 2012). In some cases, the organizations even consider the possibility of the information being put on public domain as a last resort. Another important theme also has to do with the right to amend health records. This is an important theme to the organizations because they consider health state of patients as something that is not perpetual but periodically changes with time. As these changes take place, right is given for the amendment of the health records. Finally, the theme of privacy complaint reporting and tracking runs through almost all the organizations as the organizations use this as a medium for ensuring that there is an effective evaluation and monitoring system by which all forms of irregularities with information practices can be tracked and appropriately addressed (Mayo Foundation, 2002).

Differences in Policies In terms of aim and purpose, it would be said that almost all the organizations have a common objective to attain with protected health information. However, a line of significant difference is drawn when it comes to the mode of implementation of this all important goal of ensuring that health information of patients are protected. Between Mayo Foundation and Georgetown for instance, it would be observed that there is a clear cut different in the approach to ensuring that there is implementation whereby Mayo Foundation prefers the use of information security program, which is an integrated action plan, whereas Georgetown uses Privacy Complaint Reporting and Tracking to achieve the same goal.

Between the two the major difference that can be seen is that the approach used by Mayo Foundation is decentralized whiles the approach used by Georgetown is decentralized. What this means is that Mayo Foundation tries to use a system that is based on the internal operations of the organization. For example there are departments within the organization that strictly ensures that the information security program is undertaken successfully (Georgetown University, 2003). Georgetown on the other hand opens up the Privacy Complaint Reporting and Tracking to every member within the organization that can produce useful results.

All said and done, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center uses Protection of BIDMC Data (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 2004), which is also a form of centralized approach to information security.Key Security Principles and Elements The key security principles and elements that can be stressed as the most important to information security are confidentiality and propriety of information. This is because the principles and elements of confidentiality and propriety of information help in giving so many premiums to health information that is coming from patients.

If for nothing at all, it helps in making the patient so important and feels secure about the fact that their information can be safe with service providers (Georgetown University, 2003).REFERENCE LISTFielding, J. E., Teutsch, S., & Koh, H. (2012). Health Reform and Healthy People Initiative. American Journal of Public Health, 102(1), 30-33.Georgetown University (2003). Protection of Health Information Policies and Procedures Manual. University Press: GeorgetownMayo Foundation (2002). Developing Policies, Procedures, and Practices.

CPRI Toolkit: Managing Information Security in Healthcare. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (2004). Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Manual. Retrieved March 13, 2013 from http://mycourses.med.harvard.edu/ec_res/nt/71892383-6722-4b2a-a7e9-24ce21ae356d/adm04new.pdf