Research Proposal Round Two!

So my first research proposal did not get approved by Professor Vives :( BUT that is OK because it is all a part of the research process. So as another step of my research journey here is my revised proposal, and this one was approved! :D

HIPPA: How it affects you and me

            The HIPPA law is important to everyone in society and plays a huge role in the medical world. However not many people think about HIPPA, know their rights, or their limitations. Lack of knowledge about the HIPPA law is very dangerous, it could get a person in to a heap of trouble without even realizing they did something wrong. Being a nursing major, I wanted to explore the HIPPA law more, learn the positive and negative aspects of this law, and learn how it has affected people in society. Through careful consideration I formulated a good research question that narrows my search down to my specific curiosity, how does the HIPPA law affect society negatively, and positively? Through my research I have noticed that there are many people in the health care world talking about this law, so it has significant relevance in the field.

            The relevance of this topic is simple; everyone should know the positive and negative aspects of the HIPPA law, because it affects every person in society. Every medical record a person has ever had is protected by HIPPA, and many people do not know this. A person is obligated to understand their rights and limitations, and I would like to explore this law more not only for myself going in to the medical field, but for my audience as well so they can also understand the law and how it could affect them. My goal is to look at this issue from both sides in a conversational debate, I want to see what nurses are saying about this, what society is saying about this. I want people reading my paper to know how much HIPPA could really affect them, this law could save someone’s life, but it could also take someone’s life that is how extreme this issue could really be.

            I have come across very interesting research in my studies. I ran across a nurses Q&A forum which was very interesting because I got an actual document of nurses communicating about the subject, it let me know that even people who work in the health care profession have questions about the law. Some of the things that were covered in this forum were how HIPPA affects the media, the patient, law enforcement, and family members of patients. I have also gone outside of the box with some popular sources since there has not been much research on how HIPPA can negatively affect society. The first popular source was an online article about three people hospitalized for measles, because of HIPPA the names were not able to be disclosed to the public, which left people that came in contact with these three ill people possibly in harm’s way. Another popular source I linked to HIPPA is the movie Girl Positive. This movie concerns HIV in high schools, the main character was a female who contracted HIV from a male, without knowing. This is a disease that kills people, and because of HIPPA it is not required by law for someone to disclose their medical information to another, I personally believe this could be classified as murder from an ethical standpoint. This issue is so important especially for UCF students to know because at orientation we learned that one in two people at UCF have some form of HIV, which is half of the university! Students should be aware that HIPPA will not protect you from everything, and in this case could potentially kill you.

            The research has given me tools to investigate and answer my question. Through my final paper I will be able to tell my audience how the HIPPA law can affect you and the society in a positive and negative way. Through my research in the library, and my search from popular sources I will be able to provide the audience with specific evidence, and scenarios of how they can be affected by the HIPPA law. I am planning to meet with a librarian soon to help me find more scholarly sources that can lead me to finding more information about the negative aspect of HIPPA.

            I want to conduct this research for knowledge; it is an important issue for me because I have volunteered in a hospital in the AIDS department where the HIPPA law was strongly enforced, and every day I couldn’t help but wonder if the HIPPA law could have caused half of these patients to catch the disease. Granted this is my first real research paper, but through research, preparation, and the will to learn, I believe I will be able to fully communicate my issue with my audience.

            Looking in to the future, I hope my research informs my fellow pupils. I want people to be informed by this paper and know how this law can protect them but also harm them. I would personally love to see this research continued, I have found some research about rules and regulations of HIPPA and how it can positively protect your rights, but I have found little to no scholarly research on the negative standpoint of the law and I think it would be a great idea to get some research on this standpoint out there. This research goes hand in hand with my personal career goals, I want to be a nurse, and I want to be the best nurse I can possibly be so I want to go in to my field being informed on HIPPA, and how to fully protect my patients. 

 

Works Cited

·         "HIPPA Q And A." Nebraska Nurse 36.3 (2003): 21. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.

·         Girl Positive. Dir. Peter Werner. Lifetime, 2007. DVD.

·         Fuoco, Michael. “Measles case raises the issue of privacy versus the public good”. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2 April 2009. Web.

·           Jolie. Measles Cases Raise HIPAA Debate. AllNurses.com, 3 April 2009. Web.

·           Haugh, R. "Banking On Privacy. Hospitals Must Protect Patient Information -- And Their Own Liability -- As Banks Balk At HIPPA." H&HN: Hospitals & Health Networks 78.2 (2004): 50. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 13 Sept. 2012.

·          Friedman, Emily. "HIPAA Humdrum: Generally Speaking, Laws Work Better If They're Enforced." Modern Healthcare 41.35 (2011): 26. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 13 Sept. 2012.

·          Stiles, Ella. "Promoting Health Literacy In Patients With Diabetes." Nursing Standard 26.8 (2011): 35-40. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 13 Sept. 2012.

·          Ingram, Racquel, Richardson. "Using Campinha-Bacote's Process Of Cultural Competence Model To Examine The Relationship Between Health Literacy And Cultural Competence." Journal Of Advanced Nursing 68.3 (2012): 695-704. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 13 Sept. 2012.

·         "HIPAA -- The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act: What Rns Need To Know About Privacy Rules And Protected Electronic Health Information." National Nurse 107.6 (2011): 20-27. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 14 Sept. 2012.

·           Giacalone, RP, and GG Cacciatore. "HIPPA And Its Impact On Pharmacy Practice." American Journal Of Health-System Pharmacy 60.5 (2003): 433-445. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 14 Sept. 2012.