Custom «Protected Health Information » Essay Paper Sample

Various organizations in their interaction with clients collect some personal information. This collected information being private ought to be kept private. Hospitals are particularly areas where sensitive personal information gets collected. This information if leaked out can cause damage of the patients exposed. This essay will briefly examine how personal information should be kept secure.

Protected Health Information

Protected health information has been defined has any data that can be used to correctly identify an individual and/or any issues pertaining to his/her past life. Protected health information can be secured in a number of ways. In order to best analyse the way this information can be secured it is significant to identify the main ways through which the collected data can leak out; the administrative, physical and technical leakages. In view of this there should be the following safeguards; administrative, physical and technical safeguards (HIPAA, 2010).

Administrative safeguards

Institutions which collect personal information from their clients need to have rules which are written down giving the security measures which are required to be adhered to. Administrative safeguards are quite significant because they are measures taken to ensure the data protection procedures are duly adhered to by the authorities in charge of the same. Without the administrative safeguards it is possible that laxity in reference to personal data protection is likely to be experienced (Viado and Wright 2005).

Physical safeguards

Through the physical safeguards the information stored in the system hard wares, and building is kept safe. This is done by ensuring that there is limited physical access to data stored electronically. This is accomplished by limiting access to the facility in which the information is kept. The computers and other systems which contain personal information should be password protected so as to limit their access to only the authorised. Steps should be taken to ensure that only relevant authorities access these computers due to the risk of hacking passwords. More security steps ought to be taken such as limiting the amount data which can be accessed at some lower levels of station. There should be restrictions on how electronic data is disposed and reused. Failing to implement such measures will form loopholes through which information can leak out (Viado and Wright 2005).

Technical safeguards

In most cases information is stored electronically and thus the need to engage in some efficient technical safeguards. This may include using of two tiers for security. It should be ensure that the data storage systems should be frequently updated to ensure that the information is secure. Failure to keep abreast with current data storage may make easy for the information to be easily hacked (Kurt, 2010).

Ensuring information is kept safely is very significant as it enhances the credibility of an organization. Leakage of personal information to third parties is a serious violation of the law and can lead to damages be done. It is prudent for organizations to take steps and ensure that protected health data is kept safe.