Legal Considerations
In the book Emerging Practices in Telehealth, Kyle Y. Faget and Jessa Boubker discuss the advancements in telehealth that are expected to emerge in the year 2023.
Protection of Personal Information and Safety
When Health Care Providers services, whether in-person or through telehealth, it is essential for healthcare providers to follow both federal and state laws pertaining to the privacy and security of patient health information. This can become more complex when data is stored and shared electronically or in the cloud. To maintain compliance with laws like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and state regulations, providers must have strong compliance programs and effectively manage data storage systems to protect against potential cyber threats. These challenges are not exclusive to telehealth providers, as there are a variety of solutions and legal strategies available to ensure compliance and minimize risks on a national and global level.
A potential blockchain-based approach to safeguarding the privacy of patients’ medical data
In 2021, the book “Machine Learning, Big Data, and IoT for Medical Informatics” by Riya Sapra and Parneeta Dhaliwal discusses the intersection of machine learning, big data, and IoT in the field of medical informatics, as stated in the link provided by ScienceDirect.
Healthcare professionals (physicians, registered nurses, medical facilities, eldercare facilities, medical centers, etc.)
Various healthcare providers such as hospitals, doctors, nurses, clinics, nursing homes, medical practitioners, nutritionists, and dieticians are responsible for providing medical care. Hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes are where patients seek diagnosis for injuries or illnesses. Doctors and other medical professionals ensure that patients receive proper care and accurate diagnoses. To effectively manage patient information, hospitals must keep track of records, diagnoses, medical expenses, and other pertinent details. E-platforms are utilized to handle this information and share it with insurance companies for payment purposes through insurance claims. The use of blockchain-based platforms simplifies the process of sharing reports and records with insurance companies while maintaining the security of the data.
On numerous occasions, it becomes necessary to share these records with other healthcare organizations or physicians for consultation regarding a specific scenario or illness. The utilization of blockchain technology can guarantee the prevention of any unauthorized use of data. Patients have the authority to control the sharing of their data, allowing them to manage and limit its dissemination at any time. Additionally, doctors and nurses can utilize blockchain applications to monitor the progress of diagnosis and access summarized reports, enabling them to gain a better understanding of the situation more efficiently.
Enhancing compatibility and promoting uniformity in data formatting
The fundamental principle of promoting interoperability and utilizing digital advancements to revolutionize healthcare relies on healthcare providers effectively collecting consistent and high-quality data. The COVID-19 crisis heightened the urgency to centralize, share, and analyze clinical data, ultimately expediting efforts to enhance interoperability and establish procedures for monitoring and enhancing data standardization and quality.
Upon analyzing the compiled data, the Malaffi team discovered that certain data categories, such as diagnoses and procedures, were consistently coded. However, they also noted considerable deficiencies in other areas, such as allergies and chronic conditions, and encountered difficulties with data accuracy, such as inadequate coding of allergies and inconsistent demographic information.
In order to improve the quality of data, the Department of Health (DOH) has released guidelines to healthcare providers in Abu Dhabi regarding coding standards and minimum data sets. The widespread implementation of these standards, including Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine–Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) and Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC), is predicted to greatly enhance interoperability, enhance the clinical usefulness of the data, and boost the precision and breadth of population health insights.
