Practices and systems employed by health professionals toward protection and confidentiality of patient health records in Ghana

Objectives

Health information relies on a patient's sensory perceptions as well as objective assessments, diagnoses, and test findings. Ghana's current laws governing the confidentiality of patient health data seems a little pertinent in spite of ongoing conversations on the significance of patient health information and the necessity to protect patient information from improper disclosure. The study therefore investigated the extent of patient confidentiality in Ghana by looking into the guidelines, regulations, and rules that govern patient records.

Methods

The interpretive, phenomenological, and narrative methodologies used in qualitative research were employed to study the phenomenon. Twenty (20) participants were interviewed in a semi-structured manner to gather the data needed for the analysis comprising of Doctors, Nurses, Administrative staff, Record Officers, and Information Communication Technology (ICT0 Technicians of five Departments in La General Hospital. The Activity Theory was used as a theoretical foundation for the study

Conclusions

The study revealed that healthcare professionals uphold the moral standards relating to patient confidentiality and trust. Again, the findings of the study showed that medical records are safely stored through the use of Electronic Health Record system in the hospital in a manner that wouldn't compromise patient confidentiality. However, the results establishes that health care workers can potentially serve as a conduit for the leak or breach of patient information through negligence and unprofessional practices.

Public interest statement

The study investigated systems and practices that are employed by health workers in Ghana to ensure that patient health records are safeguarded in order to build patients confidence in how their health records are protected. Health workers were interviewed in this study and the findings of the study show that there are practices and systems put in place to safeguard patient health records in the hospitals. Although, it was established that EHR systems help in safeguarding patient health records, the study recommends the need for users of the Health Electronic Records to be fully involved in the implementation process and strict enforcement of policies regarding the use of the EHR system to help prevent negligence and unprofessional application of the system.