Exam 1 - HIPAA, Standard, and Universal Precautions Flashcards
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
What are the 3 primary goals?
- Make it easier for people to keep health insurance
- Protect the confidentiality and security of healthcare information = privacy
- Help the healthcare industry control administrative costs
Our main interest is the privacy portion (there are two rules).
What are the two rules of HIPAA?
Privacy Rule and Security Rule
HIPAA Privacy Rule
Provides federal protection of health information held by covered entities and their business associates
Gives patients rights with respect to that information
HIPAA Security Rule
Provides a series of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for covered entities and their business associates to use to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the electronic health record = protected health record
Blood-borne pathogens
Pathogenic microorganisms present in human blood
Can cause disease in humans
Some infections that can be transmitted through contact with blood and body fluids include:
HIV, HAV, HBV, HCV, staph and strep infections, salmonella, shigella, pneumonia, syphilis, TB, malaria, measles, chicken pox, herpes, UTIs, and blood infections
The greatest risks are from HIV and Hepatitis B and C
OSHA
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
OSHA defines what is meant by “universal precautions”
Universal Precautions
An approach to infection control -
Treat all human blood and certain human body fluids as if they were known to be infectious for HIV, hepatitis, and other blood borne pathogens
Blood Borne Pathogen Standards require:
Healthcare providers to observe Universal Precautions to prevent contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM)
Under circumstances in which differentiation between body fluid types is difficult or impossible, consider all body fluids as potentially infectious materials.
Treat all blood and other potentially infectious materials with appropriate precautions such as:
Use gloves, masks, and gowns if blood or OPIM exposure is anticipated
Use engineering and work practice controls to limit exposure
What Constitutes OPIM?
The following human body fluids
- Semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, saliva in dental procedures, any body fluid visibly contaminated with blood, and all body fluids in situations where it is difficult or impossible to differentiate between body fluids
- Any unfixed tissue or organ (other than intact skin) from a human (living or dead)
- HIV-containing cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, and HIV- or HBV-containing culture medium or other solutions; and blood, organs, or other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV or HBV
What are alternative concepts in infection control?
Body Substance Isolation (BSI) and Standard Precautions
Body Substance Isolation (BSI) and Standard Precautions
They incorporate not only the fluids and materials covered by the Blood Borne Pathogens Standard but expands coverage to include all body fluids and substances.
Standard Precautions
Standard precautions are designed to reduce the risk of transmission of microorganisms from both recognized and unrecognized sources of infection in hospitals.
-Applies to Blood, All body fluids, secretions, and excretions, except sweat, regardless of whether or not they contain visible blood, Non-intact skin, and Mucous membranes.
Standard Precautions includes the use of:
- Hand washing
- Appropriate personal protective equipment whenever touching or exposure to patients’ body fluids is anticipated
- Gloves, gowns, and masks
