What are the primary distinctions between specialized patient records and general health records?

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

This discussion has two options. Please choose either Option A or Option B to respond to and indicate which option you chose.

Option A: Imagine you are the director of health information services in a major medical center that maintains both a psychiatric unit and a substance abuse unit in addition to general medical and surgical units. Your facility plans to join a computer network with fifteen hospitals throughout the state, which will allow online access to laboratory data, regardless of which facility performed the lab work. None of the other fifteen facilities offer psychiatric or substance abuse treatment. (Case Study, p. 249)

Identity and discuss the confidentiality issues present with such a network in the light of the statutory, regulatory, and accrediting requirements governing patients treated in these units.  What are the additional requirements for record content and privacy requirements for mental health and addiction medicine patients?

Option B: Pretend you have recently been promoted to the manager of specialized health records position for your organization.  Your department in primarily responsible for maintaining patient records related to HIV/AIDS diagnoses and other highly sensitive health information. Upon taking the lead of the department, you have noticed several incidences of employees improperly storing sensitive data and/or releasing information to the wrong patients. Many of your employees transferred from the general records department, so they aren’t familiar with the requirements for specialized records. Given the consequences of their actions, you realize that an in-service is imminent. Discuss the components of your presentation and be sure to include the following:

a. What are the primary distinctions between specialized patient records and general health records?

b. Why is HIV/AIDS testing information, results, and diagnoses particularly sensitive?

c. What are the legal ramifications of HIV/AIDS information being released to the wrong patient, or to employees without a “need to know”?
Guided Response (for Option A and Option B): Review several of your classmates’ posts, and provide a substantive response to at least two of your peers.  What are your classmates’ thoughts regarding the importance of securing sensitive health information?  Do you agree or disagree with your peer’s perspective?  Why?  After reading their perspective, would you change or alter any aspect your reasoning or suggest a change in their perspective regarding securing health information?