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A data breach of protected health information can be a costly problem, not only for a healthcare corporation, but also for the healthcare provider, including the pediatric nurse. A data breach of protected patient information involves the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which is not just the once-a-year online educational activity. HIPAA's most serious breach ramifications are huge and not frequently stressed. A HIPAA breach can incur monetary penalties, loss of a nursing license, employment termination, prison time, and now, the exposure of a new cause of action - a lawsuit.
Key Words:
Data breach, protected health information, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Data breaches are problematic. One needs to look no further than the nightly news about the explosion of "Big Data" breaches with healthcare companies becoming prime targets. Over the last few years, the number of monetary violations imposed over those data breaches has markedly increased, with many breaches of a patient's protected health information (PHI) being made by a healthcare professional (U.S. Department of Health and Human Service [DHHS] Office for Civil Rights, 2018). This has implications for all nurses, especially pediatric nurses, because pediatric nurses tend to have greater familiarity with the family of the patient than nurses who provide health care for adults. This familiarity then becomes a social familiarity, which can result in a greater ease of becoming social media friends with patients and/or their family.
What seems to be so innocent can have dire consequences for the pediatric nurse. An innocent posting on any social media site can reveal a child's PHI. This release of a patient's personal data or PHI not only has ramifications and implications for the nurse's employer, but also individual ramifications for the nurse. The release of unauthorized information is a breach. A data breach of patient information involves the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, commonly known as HIPAA. HIPAA and its costly breach ramifications are huge and not frequently stressed in most educational activities. A breach can occur just by means of communication, including a social media posting. Most nurses not only communicate by email but also have social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; however, few nurses know that a breach of...