Syllabus
Master of Science in Health Informatics
HIN 625: Health Information Legislation, Compliance, Privacy and Security – Fall B 2021
Credits - 3
Description
This course explores legislation and regulation relating to health informatics. The course will examine the major laws and agency regulations governing healthcare technology, data collection, management, and privacy, as well as the security standards required for healthcare and health-related organizations. Students will explore the intent behind, and ethical dimensions of, health informatics regulatory frameworks, using case studies of recent health information uses, security breaches, and challenges to interoperability. This course will also look ahead to the impact of future Health IT regulations.
Materials
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Program Outcomes addressed by this course
- Understand the complex system of legal and regulatory compliance that governs the healthcare system
Course Outcomes
- Restate the foundations of the American legal systems as it pertains to healthcare, healthcare technology and data
- Critique privacy standards in organizations, including HIPAA and HITECH
- Defend the legal standards of a legal medical record
- Analyze the security of health information in a healthcare organization
- Plan for a response to a cybercrime attack
- Evaluate the use of healthcare data and technology against current applicable legislation and regulations
Assignments
Please note that all times in the syllabus and in Brightspace refer to Eastern Time. The discussion board and assignment links for each week will open at the start of the week for submissions.
Weekly Discussion Posts – These assignments will assess your ability to apply concepts clearly and accurately from your readings using a legal perspective. Each week you are expected to submit an initial post and comment on at least 2 other students’ posts. You need to follow APA guidelines for citing any sources you may reference in either your initial post or your response to others. Refer to the Discussion Rubric and discussion question for submission guidelines.
Initial post: You should submit your initial post by 11:59 PM Sunday. Your initial post should be approximately 500 words.
Response to others: You should comment on at least 2 other students’ posts by 11:59 PM Wednesday. Your comments to others should be thorough, thoughtful, and they should offer some new content. Do not merely respond with “I agree” or “I disagree.” Engage directly with the ideas of your classmates and briefly mention which part of the post you are responding to.
Weekly Case Studies – During weeks 1 through 5, you will be analyzing case studies and answering required questions to help you apply the concepts of this course. In Weeks 1 and 5, the presentations will be in written form. In Weeks 2, 3, and 4, you will be presenting your case study as a video screencast presentation. Refer to the Case Study guidelines and rubric for submission guidelines.
Research Paper – In week 7, you will submit an original 5-7 page APA paper. You will select a topic from the outlined list and conduct legal research that addresses the topic using graduate-level analysis and evaluation. Refer to the Research Paper guidelines and rubric for submission guidelines.
Grading Policy
Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:
Grade Breakdown
| Assessment Item | Possible Points | Percent of Total Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly Case Studies, weeks 1 - 5 | 11 points each | 55% |
| Discussion Posts | 3 points per discussion | 24% |
| Research Paper | 21 points | 21% |
| Total | 100 points | 100% |
Grade Scale
| Grade | Points Grade | Point Average (GPA) |
| A | 94 – 100% | 4.00 |
| A- | 90 – 93% | 3.75 |
| B+ | 87 – 89% | 3.50 |
| B | 84 – 86% | 3.00 |
| B- | 80 – 83% | 2.75 |
| C+ | 77 – 79% | 2.50 |
| C | 74 – 76% | 2.00 |
| C- | 70 – 73% | 1.75 |
| D | 64 – 69% | 1.00 |
| F | 00 – 63% | 0.00 |
Schedule
Course learning modules are divided into weeks. Each week starts on Wednesday at 12:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) and closes on Wednesday at 11:59 PM ET, with the exception of Week 8, which ends on Sunday. All assignments must be submitted by 11:59 PM ET on the due date.
Course Schedule
- Week 1: Oct 20 – Oct 27
- Week 2: Oct 27 – Nov 3
- Week 3: Nov 3 – Nov 10
- Week 4: Nov 10 – Nov 17
- Week 5: Nov 17 – Nov 24
- Week 6: Nov 24 – Dec 1
- Week 7: Dec 1 – Dec 8
- Week 8: Dec 8 – Dec 12
| Learning Modules | Topics | Assignments and Due Dates |
| Week 1 |
Introduction to the Fundamentals of Health Informatics Law |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Case Study (Written) – Wednesday |
| Week 2 | Consent and Release of Information |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Case Study (Oral Presentation) – Wednesday |
| Week 3 | The Legal Health Record |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Case Study (Oral Presentation) – Wednesday |
| Week 4 |
Corporate Compliance/Medical Staff Compliance |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Case Study (Oral Presentation) – Wednesday |
| Week 5 | HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Case Study (Written) – Wednesday |
| Week 6 | Information Risk and Management | Discussion Forum – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday |
| Week 7 | Information Rights vs. Protection |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Research Paper – Wednesday |
| Week 8 | Cybersecurity Management | Discussion – Initial post by Friday, responses by Sunday |
Student Resources
Online Student Support
Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.
Questions? Visit the Student Support Health Informatics page
APA Style Guide
UNE Libraries:
- Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Blackboard/Brightspace.
- MSIN Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/health-informatics/
- Library Tutorial: Find an article
- Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.
UNE Student Academic Success Center
The Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of services to support your academic achievement, including tutoring, writing support, test prep and studying strategies, learning style consultations, and many online resources. To make an appointment for tutoring, writing support, or a learning specialist consultation, go to une.tutortrac.com. To access our online resources, including links, guides, and video tutorials, please visit:
Accommodations
Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.
Policies
Technology Requirements
Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements
Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool
The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.
Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.
You can learn more about Turnitin in the Turnitin Student quick start guide.
Information Technology Services (ITS)
ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673
Course Evaluation Policy
Course surveys are one of the most important tools that University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.
Attendance Policy
Online students are required to submit a graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. If a student does not submit a posting to the graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET, the student will be automatically dropped from the course for non-participation. Review the full attendance policy.
Late Policy
Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.
Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.
Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.
Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures
The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.
UNE Course Withdrawal
Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.
Academic Integrity
The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:
- Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
- Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
- Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
- Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
- Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.
Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.