Ethics, HIPAA, and Confidentiality

Course overview

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was implemented in 1996 and has evolved significantly. While HIPAA regulations have many varying components, the part of HIPAA most relevant to healthcare professionals, however, centers around the protection of patient's healthcare information. Because you play a key role in the production of healthcare information, you play a key role in its protection. Confidentiality is but one of the many types of ethical dilemmas that can confront you in practice. You are expected to be familiar with professional ethical standards and know how to apply them to challenging situations. The goal of this course is to educate social workers in acute settings on confidentiality, ethical dilemmas, and ethical decision-making.