This blog submits to the Healthcare Blogger Code of Ethics.
Member
My perspective:
I am a new RN and my knowledge is limited. I strive for accuracy. However, medical information presented in this blog is not guaranteed to be valid, accurate, or current. No attempt is made to make medical, legal, career, or any other type of advice. External links may not reflect the opinion or statements I think they do and should be checked for validity and accuracy.
Confidentiality:
I write about my experiences of being an RN or a student, and those of others.
Regarding the use of de-identified health information, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) states:
There are no restrictions on the use or disclosure of de-identified health information. De-identified health information neither identifies nor provides a reasonable basis to identify an individual. ...the removal of specified identifiers of the individual and of the individual’s relatives, household members, and employers is required, and is adequate only if the covered entity has no actual knowledge that the remaining information could be used to identify the individual.
This applies to "covered entities" under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, i.e. healthcare businesses. However, all Protected Health Information (PHI) is strictly removed from my blog posts, in order to conform to the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, set forth by Health and Human Services after HIPAA. This "Privacy Rule" protects the privacy of individuals regarding any information about their health or care they received from healthcare workers such as myself. This information should not be publicly disclosed if the individual may be identified, or there is reasonable basis to suppose the individual may be identified, from such information. Potential identifiers, according to HHS, include:
...names, geographic subdivisions smaller than a US state, all elements of dates (except year) directly related to the individual, including birth, admission, discharge, and death dates, and specific age, as well as multiple other specific data (SSN, phone numbers, medical record numbers).HHS lists potential identifiers in their Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. There is no existing process, however, for determining the HIPAA compliance of any website. If you feel that standard privacy rights are being violated, please notify me at mannursediaries AT gmail DOT com.
Even without identifiers, however, I will endeavor to not use whole patient profiles simply to gossip, complain or otherwise tell their life story.
Professional courtesy:
My intention in writing these posts is not to malign or defame any organization, company, club, religion, ethnic group, or individual, even if I explain how I disagree with their positions. I think healthcare bloggers have a duty to show due respect to any organization or individual they are writing about. Opinions and views expressed are my own and obviously do not represent those of my employers, not that I'm telling you who they are.
