BUS FPX 3121 Assessment 4 Informational Interview and Course Reflection

Informational Interview and Course Reflection

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BUS FPX-3121

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Healthcare organizations operate in a complex setting, and healthcare executives today are faced with moral and management dilemmas to balance the performance of the organization, patient care, and regulatory requirements. In addition to keeping pace with the latest ethical issues, healthcare executives need to be prepared to deal with whatever challenges may lie ahead and impact the delivery of healthcare.

I contacted Dr. Michael Carter, Director of Health Information Management at Mayo Clinic (2023), for information regarding the ethical issues. Dr. Carter is not only a successful practitioner in healthcare management, but he is also concerned with ethics and ethical decision-making, and is a moral mentor for me. The topics of patient privacy, health information exchanges, and the responsibility of healthcare managers when protecting patient-sensitive information were covered during the interview. Another focus of this paper is to highlight some of the key aspects of the course and how they will influence my career as a Health Care Manager.

Pros and Cons of Health Information Exchange and Electronic Health Records

Dr. Carter discussed the various benefits of health information exchanges (HIEs) and electronic health records (EHRs) during the interview, highlighting the impact they have had on enhancing healthcare coordination and efficiency. These technologies allow providers to quickly and easily access patient information, potentially resulting in a faster diagnosis and treatment. The majority of hospitals in the U.S. are already adopting certified EHR systems, with over 96% reporting their adoption. HIE (Bhati et al., 2023) is one of the most important advantages for the enhanced sharing of information between healthcare providers.

Healthcare providers can share and transmit patient information securely between clinics, hospitals, and labs, enhancing patient care coordination by healthcare teams. Research has demonstrated that allergy histories and medication lists are readily available and allow doctors to reduce medication errors by up to 55%, as they can easily access these. Having better access to patient data will make a big difference in patient safety and the quality of care that’s provided, Dr. Carter says. In addition, HIE has been vital in responding to COVID-19 by enabling data exchange to aid in resource planning and disease surveillance.

Several disadvantages of these technologies were found during the interview. The main concern that needs to be addressed is the increasing threat of data breaches, alongside a Cyber Security attack. Healthcare organizations are a rich source of vital information, such as personal medical details, and cybercriminals know that this information is valuable. Healthcare was the most attacked industry for cyberattacks, as more than 133 million healthcare records were exposed in 2023 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024). In the case of healthcare managers, Dr. Carter recommended that they create policies that would maintain patient privacy and that they set the benefits of digital technology in their security systems.

Ethical Challenges Related to Patient Health Information

Several ethical issues were discussed with the interviewers, including the rights of patient confidentiality and access to relevant information for health care providers’ treatment responsibilities. Medical or mental health records, insurance information, and other sensitive data are crucial in the healthcare industry. Patients’ rights will be breached with unauthorized access to this information, leading to loss of trust between patients and health care providers (Mensah et al., 2024). A case study on a security breach incident was presented, where the patient information was accessed by one of the hospital employees. There is no public disclosure of information, and the organisation had to carry out an investigation and take disciplinary action. This is a good example of the need to establish a system of high ethics and monitoring in healthcare organizations.

Healthcare organizations must safeguard patient health information according to Federal laws, which include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Ethics are an issue during emergencies since providers must have access to patient records in a short period of time. These are problems that are explained in a real-world context. With the massive number of patients whose personal information was exposed as a result of the cyberattack on Anthem Inc., it is clear that these types of patient data protection failures can have a serious impact on patients (Rony et al., 2024). The two ethical principles that the healthcare leaders must be able to balance between are autonomy/protection of the patient’s privacy and beneficence/optimal care.

External Regulatory Policies and Forces Shaping Ethical Practices and the Role of Personal Integrity

Healthcare organizations are required to follow certain rules that will ensure the patient’s rights are protected and that the doctors/nurses can treat the patient according to their ethical standards. Data security policies and rules, along with privacy policies and ethical rules for healthcare management, are also laid out by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) policies (Nacu et al., 2025).

Healthcare managers need to know these rules because they need to ensure their organization is compliant with the latest rules. But Carter said that regulation is just one aspect of ethical leadership. The moral character and professional responsibility of individuals are also important aspects of ethical health care administration. Leaders need to demonstrate the above principles in their behaviour: to be honest and open; to take on responsibility for decisions. Good practice by leaders is guided by ethical principles as they establish work practices that place the safety of patients and ethical behaviour at the forefront. Today’s patients demand transparency when it comes to their data and how it is safeguarded.

To ensure ethical business practices, healthcare managers need to develop operational approaches that allow their organizations to make the most of new technologies. In a healthcare organization, the managers must come up with strategies to implement the new technology in their organization without violating any ethical business practices (Bhati et al., 2023). Healthcare organizations had to fork out more than $25 million to pay fines for HIPAA violation cases during 2022, highlighting the importance of ethical leadership and regulatory compliance in safeguarding patient information.

Appraising Self-Designed Questions

During the interview, I came across three more questions that I used to explore ethical issues in the present healthcare administration. My first question began with an explanation of how it is that healthcare organizations make sure that their employees are aware of patient data security. It has been observed that 88% of healthcare data breaches are caused by human error, making it essential to offer training programs to humans as the most effective means of protecting healthcare data from breaches (Hamad & Bah, 2022). Dr. Carter shared three strategies that organisations should use in their standard training, simulation, and ongoing education to develop security measures.

The second question considered the continued efficiency of the health care manager in the workplace as well as the obligation to ethically safeguard patient information. It’s important to take each case one at a time and remember the rights of the patient when diagnosing and treating them,” Dr. Carter said. So his organisation had to restrict access to the systems to keep them secure, but this meant that access for patients to the systems was delayed (Westland et al., 2024).

The third question examined the effect that new technologies (AI, Robotics, etc.) will have on ethical standards in healthcare. Dr. Carter is confident that AI will improve care and decision-making for patients, but he believes that new moral “rules of the game” are necessary to protect patients from the improper use of their information. He responded that health system leaders must be able to deal with new technologies’ ethical issues flexibly.

Course Reflection

The course has helped me a lot to gain knowledge about the concept of ethical leadership and the need for ethical leadership in health care management. The most important lesson I learned was about the ethical aspects of decision-making in healthcare organizational issues, such as autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. The principles aim to promote respect for patients’ rights and a commitment to improving the efficiency and quality of healthcare (Blaich et al., 2023). An important takeaway from the course is that health technology is influencing ethical decision-making.

The greatest benefit of EHR, health information exchanges, and telehealth is the care that is offered to patients. Data privacy and cybersecurity are also issues of concern with these technologies. Real-world instances of healthcare data breaches made the concept of ethical leadership and effective healthcare data protection policies even more evident (Westland et al., 2024). A study of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the healthcare leadership role was also part of this course. Ethical health care managers need to do their part to minimize inequalities and promote universal access to health care.

Improvements in access through policies, including Medicaid expansion and telehealth. To provide health care to those who are underserved. I will be using these lessons in the future by being honest, ethical, and patient in my leadership. Additionally, I will continue to pursue a healthcare technology, cybersecurity, and ethical leadership path of study. I want to learn more in these areas so that I may become an innovative and responsible healthcare leader.

Conclusion

Ethical leadership in the current health care systems is highlighted in the Informational interview and Course reflection. Healthcare managers are faced with complex challenges due to technological advancement, shifting regulations, and market conditions. In this interview, Dr. Carter illustrated the qualities that must be possessed by healthcare leaders to be innovative, ethical, and meet regulatory standards. It is by protecting patient rights, promoting trust, and improving the quality of care that strong ethical leadership works to maintain the public trust and protect patient rights in healthcare organizations. Through this course, I will gain knowledge that will help me to develop my professional skills and ethical practices in health care management.

Related Assessments: BUS FPX 3121 Assessment 1 and BUS FPX 3121 Assessment 2