This thoroughly updated third edition lays a solid foundation for understanding the intersection of law, ethics and the rights of the patient, in the context of everyday nursing and health care practice.

Health Records and the Law, Fifth Edition provides essential tools for health professionals who must comply with laws protecting the privacy, confidentiality, and security of patient data.This Fifth Edition addresses the substantial changes brought about by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the growth of network information systems, along with discussion of state laws affecting the use and disclosure of patient data.

HIPAA privacy regulations have been the subject of countless hours of study, analysis, and compliance efforts within the health care industry and beyond.

Advances in health information technology (health IT) have the potential to improve the quality of healthcare, to increase the availability of health information for treatment, and to implement safeguards that cannot be applied easily or cost-effectively to paper-based health records. However, the digitization of health information is also raising new privacy risks and concerns. Sensitive health information in digital form is more easily aggregated, used, and shared. In addition, the rising cost of healthcare and the search for efficiency may create incentives to use the information in new ways. Research has consistently shown that while the public sees the potential value of health information exchange and technological advancements, it remains gravely concerned about the privacy of their sensitive health information.

Legal and Ethical Issues for Health Professionals, Fifth Edition is a concise and practical guide to legal and ethical dilemmas facing healthcare professionals in the real-world today. Thoroughly updated and featuring new case studies, this dynamic text will help students to better understand the issues they will face on the job and the implications in the legal arena.

Learn how to influence policy and become a leader in today's changing health care environment. Featuring analysis of cutting-edge healthcare issues and first-person insights, Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care, 8th Edition continues to be the leading text on nursing action and activism. Approximately 150 expert contributors present a wide range of topics in policies and politics, providing a more complete background than can be found in any other policy textbook on the market. This expanded 8th edition helps you develop a global understanding of nursing leadership and political activism, as well as the complex business and financial issues that drive many actions in the health system.