Health Information Privacy in the Correctional Environment

Information technology is considered a transformative element in health care because it facilitates the transparency and sharing of health information, which have always been central to the practice of medicine and the delivery of high-quality care. The widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) and electronic health information exchange, among other technologies, is considered essential to improving the quality of care, reducing medical errors, reducing health disparities, and advancing the delivery of patient-centered medical care

Diagnosing Death: Why Does It Remain Well Settled and Persistently Unresolved ?

For ten days after Motl Brody had been declared dead by physicians, the 12-year-old boy lay in an intensive-care unit of Children\u27s National Medical Center, sustained by drugs and a ventilator. His Orthodox Jewish parents insisted that, according to religious law, Motl remained alive because his heart continued to beat. District of Columbia law said he did not. Although statutes on the books of every U.S. state allow a determination of death when all functions of the brain, including the brain stem, have irreversibly ceased, there is continued debate, especially in religious, philosophical, and bioethics contexts, about how, or even if, brain death should be defined. A new report by The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (GW/SPHHS) offers an opportunity for health care providers, legislators and the general public to discuss the complexities of determining when death occurs. The report: Reviews the current legal definition(s) of death, based on either neurological or cardiovascular criteria, and how they evolved. Describes the distinction between a persistent vegetative state and brain death, explaining why a person whose body retains warmth, color, and some level of clinical functioning can nonetheless be considered dead. Considers arguments for a return to the exclusive use of a cardiovascular standard or a higher-brain standard built around the capacity for consciousness. Describes the debate over a statutory conscience clause, which allows personal choice regarding the determination of one\u27s death. Considers the uneasy relationship between the definition of death and the goal of increasing availability of organs for transplantation. The lack of consensus on an ontological question as profound as when death occurs is no surprise. Nonetheless, broader discussions may be appropriate to deepen public understanding and to create mechanisms to resolve the conflicts that will inevitably continue to arise

Deaf and Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Impact on Child and Family

The goal of this study was to identify similarities and differences between individuals who are Deaf, who are hearing with ASD and those who are both Deaf and have ASD on measures of communication, behaviour, and social skills. In addition, information about parent/caregiver stress, coping, and empowerment was acquired to better understand the caregiver experience of these three groups. Results indicated a number of similarities between the Deaf-ASD and hearing ASD groups on measures of communication, social skills, and behaviour. Further, parents in the Deaf-ASD group identified experiences with stress and coping similar to parents in the hearing ASD group. In contrast, feelings of empowerment and decision making power in the Deaf-ASD group resembled that of parents in the Deaf group. While the similarities found within this study suggest that individuals in the Deaf-ASD group more closely resemble their hearing ASD counterparts, these results also indicate that Deafness may play a significant role in the presentation of the ASD features and the impact they have on caregivers, services, and diagnosis

Data Segmentation in Electronic Health Information Exchange: Policy Considerations and Analysis

The issue of whether and, if so, to what extent patients should have control over the sharing or withholding of their health information represents one of the foremost policy challenges related to electronic health information exchange. It is widely acknowledged that patients\u27 health information should flow where and when it is needed to support the provision of appropriate and high-quality care. Equally significant, however, is the notion that patients want their needs and preferences to be considered in the determination of what information is shared with other parties, for what purposes, and under what conditions. Some patients may prefer to withhold or sequester certain elements of health information, often when it is deemed by them (or on their behalf) to be sensitive, whereas others may feel strongly that all of their health information should be shared under any circumstance. This discussion raises the issue of data segmentation, which we define for the purposes of this paper as the process of sequestering from capture, access or view certain data elements that are perceived by a legal entity, institution, organization, or individual as being undesirable to share. This whitepaper explores key components of data segmentation, circumstances for its use, associated benefits and challenges, various applied approaches, and the current legal environment shaping these endeavors

An Overview of Major Health Information Technology, Public Health, Medicaid, and COBRA Provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

A detailed side-by-side analysis of the individual components of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), signed into law on February 17, 2009. One of the most sweeping pieces of economic legislation ever enacted, ARRA not only provides hundreds of billions of dollars in new health and health care spending but also makes comprehensive reforms in health law and policy, particularly in the area of health information law, including health information technology (HIT) adoption and health information privacy

An Overview of Major Health Provisions Contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) into law. One of the most sweeping pieces of economic legislation ever enacted, ARRA not only provides hundreds of billions of dollars in new health and health care spending but also makes comprehensive reforms in health law and policy, particularly in the area of health information law, including health information technology (HIT) adoption and health information privacy

Health Information Technology in the United States: On the Cusp of Change, 2009

In this report we use the data collected for ONCHIT to focus on EHR adoption in the inpatient setting. We report on several important policy issues. These include the rate of adoption of EHRs among U.S. hospitals generally and among safety-net hospitals, changes in both state and federal policy, and the potential of EHRs to change the quality measurement enterprise

A múltipla Cecília

ABSTRACT: We are members of a group which researches Cecília Meireles poetry. Our aim in this paper is to offer a broad comprehension of the writer's world view, looking for relations between the poetic and the other dimensions. We are going to present three different portraits: 1) Cecilia as a Literature scholar; 2) Cecilia as a folklorist; 3) Cecilia as a journalist writing about education

Quality assurance and assessment frameworks of biosystems engineering studies

Regulatory instruments at the national level to ensure high quality are crucial to achieve and maintain a regional hub of higher education in Malta. While The Malta Qualifications Council and the National Commission for Higher Education are established and operational, the legal framework to set up a quality assurance agency and a quality assurance and licensing framework is in place, but the legislations is still awaiting approval. The University of Malta has set up internal quality assurance structures, The Programme Validation Committee monitors, reviews and recommends programmes for approval by Senate, The formation of the INSTITUTE OF EARTH SYSTEMS will facilitate the means through which a Bio Systems Engineering course could be offered, Furthermore the recent establishment of a Maltese Chamber of Agrologists could in theory eventually take up the role to grant professional accreditation,peer-reviewe