ASN 6
Student Name:
Student ID:
1|Page
1.1 Explain the main points of legal requirements, policies, and codes of practice for
handling information in care settings.
There is a complex collection of laws, regulations, and codes of practise in place to protect
privacy, security, and professional conduct while dealing with patient information. The
essentials are as follows:
Data Protection Act (DPA) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Personal
information needs to be treated in a legitimate, fair, and transparent manner per these rules
(Kruse, 2021). It is the responsibility of the care providers to get permission, maintain data
securely, and verify data correctness.
Human Rights Act 1998: The purpose of this law is to preserve the privacy of patients and
other people receiving treatment.
Confidentiality: Medical personnel have a responsibility to keep patient information private
unless they have the patient's permission or are required to do so by law.
Information Governance Policies: Different types of care facilities have different rules for
the safe storage, disposal, and disclosure of patient information (Wheeler and Grice, 2021).
National Health Service (NHS) Codes of Practice:The National Health Service (NHS) has
established norms of practise for the management of sensitive information in healthcare
facilities (Kruse, 2021).
1.2 Describe features of manual and electronic information storage systems that help
ensure data and cyber security in care settings.
Enhancing data and cyber security in healthcare settings requires the use of both manual and
electronic information storage technologies.
Manual Storage:
Lockable Cabinets: Lockable cabinet or room ought to be used to keep paper files in order
to limit access (Zhang, 2017).
Access Logs: Keep track of when and by whom the data was accessed.
Shredding: To safely discard sensitive paperwork, adopt a shredding policy.
2|Page
Restricted Entry: Allow only authorised employees access.
Training Employees: Communicate the value of safeguarding data manually to the
employees.
Electronic Storage:
Encryption: Protect sensitive information by encrypting it before sending or storing it.
Firewalls and Antivirus Software: Firewalls and anti-virus software should be set up and
maintained on a regular basis to protect against online attacks (Zhang, 2017).
User Authentication: Implement multi-factor authentication and strict password policies.
Regular Backups: Keep regular backups of your data in case of hacks or hardware
malfunctions.
Data Retention Policies: Establish rules dictating the maximum retention period before
which data must be erased.
Restriction of Entry: Only authorised individuals should be able to access electronic
records.
1.3 Describe how to support others to keep information secure in care settings.
In healthcare settings, it is essential to assist people in protecting their personal information:
Training: Make sure your personnel has received thorough training on data protection
regulations, policies, and best practises (A. Laurence Smith, 2021).
Direct Regulations: Make sure everyone in the company is familiar with and follows the
company's information security policy.
Transmission of Information: Create a transparent system for reporting security issues and
breaches.
Regular Audits: Keep tabs on compliance and security with periodic audits.
Encourage Vigilance: Create a company-wide mindset of constant vigilance to protect
sensitive information.
Password Management: Encourage secure password habits and stress the need of keeping
user names and passwords secret (Wheeler and Grice, 2021).
3|Page
1.4 Identify what would be considered a 'data breach' in handling information in care
settings.
A data breach occurs when sensitive information is lost, stolen, or accessed in an
unauthorised manner within a healthcare environment. Examples of this may be:
Unauthorized access: When someone obtains unauthorised access to private information,
such health records.
Information Theft: Theft of paper documents or computer files might be intentional or
inadvertent (Kruse, 2021).
Loss of data: Accidental data loss, such as medical records that are misplaced or forgotten.
Incidents in cyberspace: Data breaches caused by hacking, malicious software, or phishing.
Inappropriate disclosure: Disclosing protected health information to the wrong people.
Corruption of data: Any tampering with data that might result in the information being
inaccurate or corrupted.
1.5 Explain how to respond to a data breach in handling information in care settings.
When a data breach occurs in a healthcare context, quick action is necessary to limit the
damage and meet regulatory requirements (Jr, 2022).
Containment: Find the source of the problem right away, then seal it up to prevent additional
intrusion.
Notification: As required by data protection legislation, you must send out notifications to
impacted persons, regulatory bodies, and other interested parties.
Investigation: Determine the extent and root of the incident by conducting an internal
investigation (A. Laurence Smith, 2021).
Documentation: Maintain detailed logs of everything done to deal with the incident.
Remediation: Improve security procedures and other remedial steps should be implemented
to avoid such intrusions.
Communication: Keep lines of communication open and honest with those who are
impacted and those who have a stake in the matter.
4|Page
Review: Conducting a post-incident review once the breach has been fixed to determine what
went wrong and how to fix it.
5|Page
References
A. Laurence Smith (2021). Integrated Healthcare Information Systems. 5th ed. Lulu.com.
Jr, L. (2022). Healthcare Information Systems. 7th ed. Lulu.com.
Kruse, C.S. (2021). Cybersecurity in healthcare: A systematic review of modern threats and
trends. Technology and Health Care, [online] 25(1), pp.1–10. doi:https://doi.org/10.3233/thc-
161263.
Wheeler, N. and Grice, D. (2021). Management in health care. 3rd ed. Cheltenham, Glos.:
Stanley Thornes.
Zhang, Y. (2017). Health-CPS: Healthcare Cyber-Physical System Assisted by Cloud and Big
Data. IEEE Systems Journal, 11(1), pp.88–95.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1109/jsyst.2015.2460747.
6|Page
