Question

Scenario: The IT department has just notified you of a computer security violation. During their database audit, they found a nurse employee who had accessed her own electronic medical record 27 times the past 3 months to review her labs and dictations for her chronic condition. Sometimes she accessed the record herself, and sometimes she had other subordinate co-workers access her record.

The facility has strict rules concerning computer security violations. Administration wants her and any employee who assisted her terminated immediately. The nurse involved argues that it is not a violation: because she only accessed her own records, and since she owns her medical records she did not violate any security rules.

DQ1: Respond to the following question: Has the nurse violated any security rules? Be specific. Then determine if the employee and/or her subordinate should be terminated. Defend your response.

cite your sources

Answer 1

As the case suggestes that the nurse has accessed her medical records from past three months, it is a voilation of records as being an employee of the facility she must be governed by some service conduct rules and as the case material suggestes that the company is highly sensitive about data access and security there must be rules or terms of use of organisational resources which applies to all in the organisation.

As she is defending by saying that she has accessed her own records and this pardons her from this forefit of organisational rules stands void as the case is of accessing the records and not which records are accessed.

It stands totally against the norms as per the security policy of the company and the company may take steps to mend such behaviour as it may deem fit.