Why Soundproofing May Be The Key To Safeguarding Confidential Health Information

Imagine you're at your doctor's office. The doctor comes into the exam room and starts going over the test results you've recently had. You have a conversation with him, discuss the medications you're on, and various other sensitive--and very private--subjects regarding your health.

Unbeknownst to you, that conversation with your doctor may not have been so private.

Certainly healthcare providers want to stay in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which is supposed to safeguard patient confidentiality. They take cautious measures to protect computer equipment, hardware, software, etc from natural and environmental hazards, unauthorized access and intrusion, and the like. But that only covers written and electronic patient information. Privacy extends to oral communication as well, so the thin walls, loud phone conversations and open spaces in your doctor's office are also potential privacy breeches.

FEEL THE NOISE-AND PAIN-OF HIPAA'S PRIVACY ACT

Unfortunately, soundproofing is one of the last things that medical practices think about when it comes to their office design. (Again, they're more concerned about the protection of electronically stored information.) But soundproofing is an essential part of creating the privacy that patients expect and deserve. After all, it's great that confidential information is safely locked away in their computer system, but if you can hear Mrs. Smith sobbing in exam room one about needing antidepressants because her marriage is falling apart, another patient is yelling at the doctor in exam room two about a possible misdiagnosis, and you can hear nurses giggling in the hallway about Mr. Jones' hemorrhoids, then how confidential can patient information really be? Such oral privacy breeches could be embarrassing for all parties involved---and prove costly to the healthcare provider.

To be clear, HIPAA ensures a right to privacy, but it doesn't specifically require the retrofitting of existing buildings for soundproofing to prevent oral breeches of privacy. All it states is that healthcare providers must provide "reasonable measures to insure that health information remains private" in the form of "physical barriers that protect against uses and disclosures." With such loose language, HIPAA's right to privacy act may not be enough to protect confidential information. That's because creating a "physical barrier" in most cases means little more than pulling a curtain, making sure other people aren't within earshot of the patient, and whispering of information. Those measures don't account for sound transmission through and between walls, floors and ceilings. (More on that in a minute.)

And although HIPAA creates a right to privacy, it doesn't create the right for private persons to sue if they feel their privacy has been compromised, creating little incentive for healthcare providers to soundproof their buildings. However, you can file a complaint, which could lead to fines and a requirement that the provider correct their procedures to prevent future privacy issues. And that is starting to become incentive enough for healthcare providers to soundproof their buildings.

UNDERSTANDING SOUND CONTROL BASICS

Soundproofing existing structures could be as simple as swapping out traditional ceiling tiles for sound-reducing ceiling tiles, or adding carpeting and window treatments to absorb sound. But it's important to understand the basic physics of sound in order to make the correct assessment for every building's individual needs.

Sound control within an environment is measured two different ways: STC and NRC.

STC, or Sound Transmission Class, measures sound transmission between spaces such as the walls separating offices, suites, multiple tenant buildings, townhouses, and condos. It also applies to partition walls, corridor walls, and floor/ceiling assemblies. The higher the STC number, the greater the resistance to sound transmission, and the more sound is deadened. When it comes to soundproofing healthcare facilities, STC value is critical.

See the chart below for sample STC values and performance

STC Rating of 30 = Loud speech understood fairly well

STC Rating of 35 = Loud speech audible but unintellible

STC Rating of 42 = Loud speech audible as a murmur

STC Rating of 45 = Must strain to hear loud speech

STC Rating of 48 = Some loud speech barely audible

STC Rating of 50 = Loud speech not audible

As a general rule, with a change of +/- 5 STC rating, sound transmission will be clearly noticeable. With a change of +/- 10 STC rating, noise transmission will be either twice or half as loud.

NRC, or Noise Reduction Coefficient, measures the sound within confined spaces, such as auditoriums, gymnasiums, night clubs, sports complexes, and theaters. In these types of facilities, you're concerned with the absorption of airborne noise within that confined space, reducing airborne noise that escapes the space, and aiding in noise reverberation control. The higher the NRC number, the better the sound absorption.

METHODS OF SOUNDPROOFING

One of the easiest ways to soundproof a structure is to switch out traditional ceiling tiles for sound-reducing ceiling tiles. Sound-reducing ceiling tiles both absorb sound and block sound. That means rooms will be quieter, and sound transmission from room to room via the ceiling assembly will be greatly reduced.

Other easy fixes include window stripping to block exterior noise, weather stripping around interior doors to prevent sound escape, exchanging tile or linoleum flooring for carpeting to reduce noise, and installing wall coverings and window treatments to absorb sound.

One of the best ways to soundproof healthcare facilities, however, involves installing an acoustical insulation in wall cavities. Doing so will greatly increase the STC value of the wall assembly, which is what you need to prevent sound from carrying from room to room. Several insulation products have good STC values (including fiberglass and cellulose) but to get the best value consider installing an insulation that is specifically designed for acoustical applications. Products such as Monoglass are spray-applied (new construction) or pressure-injected (existing walls) into wall cavities, ensuring a complete fill of the void is achieved, including any nooks and cracks. Fiber-based acoustical insulations like Monoglass offer the highest STC possible, ensuring that the private conversation you have with your doctor behind closed-doors will remain private.

Certainly, soundproofing isn't a cure-all to saving healthcare facilities from costly fines resulting from oral privacy breeches. And until and unless the HIPAA law is amended, soundproofing won't even be required. But given that a lot of healthcare facilities are in older, uninsulated buildings, adding soundproofing will go a long way in ensuring patient privacy.

Want more info? Contact Katie McVay at Tridon Industries, a Philadelphia-based insulation and fireproofing contractor. You can reach her at 800-760-8044 or by email at k.mcvay@tridonindustries.com.

Stem Cell Health Information That Everyone Should Know

Unique Properties

Stem cells are considered unique because they can develop into a variety of cell types during the early years of life and as humans grow. Within many body tissues, it serves as an internal repair system. It can divide almost without limit and replenish other cells, even after a long period of inactivity. Once it divides, each of the new ones can remain the same or develop into a different type that will have a special function. For example, some become brain, muscle, or red blood cells.

In bone marrow and the gut, they divide regularly to repair or replace tissue that is damaged or has worn out. In the heart, pancreas, and some other organs, it will only divide under special conditions. Since 1981, scientists have long been using mice in their studies, which lead to a 1998 discovery that allowed them to grow human embryonic stem cells in a laboratory. Researchers also study somatic stem cells, also called adult stem cells.

Why They Are Important

They have many aspects that are considered important for a living organism. Within a three to five day-old embryo, inner cells help create the body of an organism. This includes the heart, lungs, eggs, sperm, skin, tissues, and various specialized types. When adult tissue contains these cells, it generates replacement cells for those that are lost.

The regenerative ability opens the door to new treatments for diseases. The potential to use therapies utilizing this for disease treatment led to the establishment of reparative or regenerative medicine. Though this sector is still in its infancy, scientists working in a laboratory setting have already used them to screen new drugs and create model systems to identify birth defect causes.

Potential Uses

Within a clinical or research environment, studies of embryonic stem cells will provide information regarding the processes that occur throughout human development. Scientists plan to study how an undifferentiated cell becomes a differentiated version that forms an organ or tissue. This work may help identify how serious health conditions like birth defects and cancer develop and can be treated.

The most important future application of stem cells is the generation of tissues and cells used for cell-based therapy. Surgeons currently use donated tissues and organs to replace those that are damaged or destroyed. Developments in this medical area could result in a renewable source of replacement tissues and cells to treat diabetes, stroke, heart disease, Alzheimer's, and other diseases.

Would you like to experience the benefits of stem cell health products? RealVidaProducts.com now offers Stem Alive, a revolutionary stem cell health product offering benefits such as rejuvenation of tissues and organs, mobilization of adult stem cells, and increased mental awareness, just to name a few. For more information and product pricing, please visit our website today! http://realvidaproducts.com

How HIPAA Training Can Help Reduce Misuse of Your Health Information: 4 Points

Maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of your medical records is governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. It makes sure that your health information does not get into the wrong hands and protects it from misuse. HIPAA had laid down certain rules and regulations which all healthcare organizations are required to follow.

Any violations of the HIPAA rules may lead to serious implications. Fines and even imprisonment may follow as a result of misuse. Generally, violations do not happen intentionally, rather they occur due lack of knowledge of the HIPAA rules on the part of the employees. It becomes the responsibility of the healthcare organization to make sure that all their employees who deal with patient records are trained. Once this is done, there will be a drastic decrease in the number of violations and your medical information will be safe.

Here are four major points as to how HIPAA training can help reduce the misuse of your health information.

• Awareness of the various rules and laws of HIPAA and understanding the reasons why these laws are implemented will help the employees to adhere to these rules as they handle your medical records.

• During the training, employees are taught about the privacy and security rules, implications, and results of non-adherence. Once they know all this, the employees will take special care to ensure that they are strictly following the regulations, thus resulting in minimal or no violations.

• On completion of this training, the employees are awarded a completion certificate, which is valid for a minimum of two years. Refreshes courses are provided at regular intervals. This is done so that the employee can be up to date with any amendments or changes in the HIPAA laws. It is necessary to be aware of the changes in order to maintain compliance of the rules.

• As patients, it is important for you also know about HIPAA, its rules and regulations, and results of non-compliance. This can help in preventing the violation of your health information, as you can keep a check on what is happening with your records. As you will be getting regular notices from the hospital, it is good to read it properly before signing as you do not want any compromise when it comes to the safety of your health information.

It is important that the patients are assured that their medical records are in the hands of responsible employees. Knowing that the employees handling their sensitive information have been properly trained will help them be at peace about its misuse. You must always make sure that the health care organization you are seeing strictly follows the HIPAA guidelines. It is good to keep a copy of your records at home so you can know if there are any changes made.

HIPAA training can be done in a classroom as well as through the internet. These days it is very easy and convenient to get training. Employees and patients will benefit greatly by undertaking this training.

Health Information Technology Degree

There are two different categories of technology of human resources in the healthcare industry. They are Healthcare IT and Informatics Professionals. The informatics professionals more often deal with the investigation and explanation of experimental information and remedial information, whereas the healthcare information technology professionals holds the servers, hardware, software and installation services in general connected with a distinctive IT department. The professionals in the field of associates of applied science in this field are in charge for the accurate maintenance of patient's health check records and association.

Coursework included in Healthcare IT Programs

A person should focus and be appropriate in the perceptions and proficiencies to real world situations. The set of courses in this field includes these attractive career courses: -

    Legal and Regulatory Issues in Health Information
    Basic Medical Terminology
    International Classification of Diseases coding I
    Health Insurance and Reimbursement
    Introduction to Health Services and Information Systems

Careers in Health IT field

There are many career opportunities for associates of applied science in this field. The Healthcare Information Technicians are mostly employed at: -

    Hospitals
    Public health organizations
    Home health agencies
    Nursing homes
    Ambulatory care practices
    Medical group practices
    Insurance Companies

Goals of Health Information Technology Program

It is expected by the students at the completion of the program that they will be able to: -

    Effectively geared up as fitness information technicians in health informatics.
    Practice as Health Data Technicians in health statistics and quality management.
    Organized as Health Selective Information Technicians in health informatics.
    Demonstrate knowledge in medical terminology, pharmacology, anatomy and physiology and pathophysiology.
    Prepare as a Technician in health data management.
    In arranging Health Content Technicians in health services organization freedom comparably in Medical Law and Ethical Standards.

Courses in Health Information Technology Degree

Some of the courses in Health Information Technology Degree are: -

    Health Insurance Management
    Healthcare Delivery Systems
    Legal Aspects of Health Care
    Computerized Practice Management
    Principles of Management
    Career Development
    Medical Terminology and Pharmacology
    Human Resource Management
    Microcomputer Concepts and Keyboarding
    Managing the Medical Office
    Introduction to IT field
    Health Law Concepts and Compliance

Conclusion

To conclude, if a person earns associate degree in this field than he is well prepared to join any of the occupation related to Healthcare Information Technology. The associate degree in this field teaches about how to use technology to bring together, scrutinizes, keep an eye on and maintain the details of physical condition data. These functions consist of other responsibility, dealing out and using health information for the clinical quality organization, regulating of clinical information, listing and repayment and giving out requirements for the discharge of individual fitness information.

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Phentramin D vs Phentermine

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1, 3, 7-Trimethylxanthine is a very long name for caffeine. Studies have shown that it is very beneficial in several ways. Caffeine will improve your mood and give you more energy. It will also lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. It raises your mental acuity and helps you to be more alert. If you drink caffeine before you exercise, you can work out longer and your performance will be better. It was shown in a study that people who drank coffee burned more than twice the fat when exercising than non coffee drinkers.

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How to get the best result of diet pills

There are so many things that you need to prepare if you want to be the best body builder. One of those preparations is to take some supplements. Among many kinds of supplement, I find out from the 7 keto dhea supplement review that 7 Keto is one of the most trusted diet supplement for many body builders. If you want to get the best result of diet pills, you might need to try on this product first before you go with any other product that you can find on the internet. However, what you have to know is that no matter how good your diet pills are, you will not get any effect if you do not do all of these things that I want to mention after this. What are they?
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