Help! We need to: / Need:

Protect and secure personal health amidst the implementation of electronic health information technology.

Obstacles (to jump, ride or fly over!):

• Employees need continual training on privacy policies and procedures.
•  Not all health care employees utilize email.

Solution: Privacy Awareness Initiative.

• Clarify the challenges, issues and concerns related to health security.
• Encouraging employees to call the privacy hotline for guidance is an effective method of training employees and responding quickly to situations.

Strategy:

• Overall strategy focused on three key privacy areas: communication, technology, trust.
• A robust campaign utilizing all forms of communications was used: print, online (via the company Intranet), email blasts, in person training, virtual training.

Success:

• Best practices: Several new policies and procedures at MedStar Health have been profiled as “best practices” in industry newsletters and in conference presentations.
•  Hotline success: The average monthly number of calls to the hotline has steadily increased since the beginning of the campaign and the number of Office of Civil Rights investigations continues on a downward trend.
• Steady increase: Simple surveys conducted following the privacy week events each year show an increased understanding of employee responsibilities related to protecting privacy and security of protected health information and confidential business information, and a marked shift in employee’s willingness to report potential privacy concerns/incidents.