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Last updated on 2024年9月1日

Your colleague breaches patient confidentiality online. How can you address this sensitive issue effectively?

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Discovering a colleague has breached patient confidentiality online is a serious issue that requires immediate attention. In healthcare, confidentiality is not just a professional responsibility; it's a legal requirement. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) mandates the protection of personal health information. If you find that a colleague has shared protected health information (PHI) online, it's crucial to act swiftly and effectively to address the breach, ensure compliance, and maintain the trust of patients.

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Jay Harmon

CEO/Managing Director, Critical Infrastructure CyberSecurity/Compliance and CMMC Audit Readiness at BorderHawk, LLC

1 Assess Impact

Before you take any action, it's essential to understand the extent of the breach. Determine what information was disclosed, how many individuals were affected, and the potential harm caused by the disclosure. This step is critical because it will inform the subsequent actions you need to take, including notifying affected parties and implementing measures to prevent future breaches. Remember, patient trust is at stake, and your goal is to mitigate any damage while upholding the highest standards of patient privacy.

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Jay Harmon

CEO/Managing Director, Critical Infrastructure CyberSecurity/Compliance and CMMC Audit Readiness at BorderHawk, LLC
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There is also a handy four step process for breach risk assessments. They are: 1. What type of PHI was involved, and to what extent? 2. Who was the unauthorized person or organization? 3. Did the person or organization acquire or view the PHI? 4. To what extent have you mitigated the risk? Once the four step breach risk assessment is completed, you develop and document any conclusion you come too about the overall level of risk. Based on the nature of the PHI, the unauthorized person receiving it, the acquisition or use of the PHI, and the steps taken to mitigate, is it likely or unlikely that the PHI was compromised? Again, if the risk is greater than low, you must notify all individuals whose data was compromised.

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2 Confront Colleague

Once you've assessed the impact, approach your colleague privately and discuss the breach. It's important to remain calm and professional, focusing on the facts rather than emotions. Encourage your colleague to be transparent about their actions and to understand the gravity of the situation. This conversation is not about assigning blame but rather about understanding what happened and why. Your colleague's response can provide valuable insight into potential gaps in training or awareness that need to be addressed.

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Jay Harmon

CEO/Managing Director, Critical Infrastructure CyberSecurity/Compliance and CMMC Audit Readiness at BorderHawk, LLC
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This is an initial awareness conversation. This is part of your breach risk assessment. Understanding the nature of the disclosure and the fact pertinent to the situation is paramount. There are far too many ways a breach can occur to try to assign blame here.

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3 Notify Supervisor

After speaking with your colleague, it's time to report the incident to a supervisor or the designated privacy officer within your organization. Reporting is a critical step in complying with HIPAA regulations and your organization's policies. Be factual and provide all necessary details about the breach and your conversation with the colleague. The supervisor will likely initiate a formal investigation, and your report will be an essential part of this process.

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Jay Harmon

CEO/Managing Director, Critical Infrastructure CyberSecurity/Compliance and CMMC Audit Readiness at BorderHawk, LLC
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Depending on the incident, and valuing your colleagues perspectives, their statement may be of minor interest outside of conducting the four step breach assessment process. That step is fact finding. Notifying the organizations leadership should follow a pre defined, orchestrated and practiced incident response evaluation and escalation process. Depending in the severity of the event a playbook should in place to move from an issue that is determined to be a breach. When a breach is declared legal context in terms of days for notification, who to notify, etc come into play.

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4 Contain Breach

Containing the breach is imperative to prevent further unauthorized disclosure of patient information. Work with your organization's IT department or cybersecurity team to remove any online content that violates patient confidentiality. This may involve contacting web administrators or social media platforms to take down the posted information. It's also important to review and reinforce security protocols to ensure that such breaches do not recur.

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Jay Harmon

CEO/Managing Director, Critical Infrastructure CyberSecurity/Compliance and CMMC Audit Readiness at BorderHawk, LLC
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Having a clear understanding of the network, an inventory of software and hardware assets and knowledge of what a normal baseline is including data flows required in order to detect and then contain. In the absence of a complete organizational risk assessment this is difficult to accomplish in the time frame required to mitigate damage before it can really take hold.

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5 Support Affected

Supporting those affected by the breach is a priority. Depending on the severity of the situation, this may involve contacting patients whose information was disclosed and providing them with clear information about what happened and how you are addressing the issue. Offer reassurance that their privacy is important and that steps are being taken to enhance data protection. This is also an opportunity to review and possibly improve your organization's communication strategies in the event of future breaches.

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6 Review Policies

Finally, use this incident as an opportunity to review and strengthen your organization's confidentiality policies and training programs. Ensure that all staff members understand their obligations regarding patient privacy and the consequences of breaching confidentiality. Regular training sessions can help reinforce the importance of HIPAA compliance and educate staff on best practices for protecting patient information. This proactive approach can help prevent similar incidents in the future.

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Jay Harmon

CEO/Managing Director, Critical Infrastructure CyberSecurity/Compliance and CMMC Audit Readiness at BorderHawk, LLC
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There should always be a post mortem when there is a breach risk assessment that indicates there has been a loss of control if sensitive data or unauthorized access

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Your colleague breaches patient confidentiality online. How can you address this sensitive issue effectively?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Assess Impact

2 Confront Colleague

3 Notify Supervisor

4 Contain Breach

5 Support Affected

6 Review Policies

Healthcare

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Your colleague breaches patient confidentiality online. How can you address this sensitive issue effectively?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Assess Impact

2 Confront Colleague

3 Notify Supervisor

4 Contain Breach

5 Support Affected

6 Review Policies

Healthcare

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