College of Allied Health

Course Syllabus

HIM161 - Legal Aspects of Health Information

4 Credit Hours

Course Description

This course begins with an introduction to legislative and regulatory processes, legal terminology, health information laws and regulations. It continues with the examination of the HIPAA Security Rule, the evaluation of patients’ rights regarding the authorized and non-authorized release of personal health information (PHI) and legal terminology. It also reviews risk management, organization compliance and the release of PHI. The course continues with an evaluation of security threats and security protection of a Health Information Management organization. Last, the course evaluates professional and ethical workplace behavior and workplace laws of medical staff and medical facilities.

Course Prerequisites

None

Required Text(s) and Resources

Brodnik, M. S., Rinehart-Thompson, L. A., & and Reynolds, R. B. (2023). Fundamentals of Law for Health Infomatics and Information Management, 4th ed. Chicago: AHIMA.ISBN 9781584268802

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Utilize healthcare legal terminology
• Identify the use of legal documents
• Apply legal concepts and principles to HIM practice
• Identify potential abuse or fraudulent trends through data analysis
• Evaluate policies and procedures to ensure organizational compliance with regulations and standards
• Describe legal and regulatory requirements related to health information management
• Apply ethical standards of practice
• Describe the consequences of a breach of healthcare ethics
• Analyze and determine a complete health record according to organizational policies, external regulations and standards

HIM Associate Degree Entry Level Competencies

This course will focus on the following AHIMA competencies:

• I.4 – Determine compliance of health record content within the health organization
• II.3 – Identify compliance requirements throughout the health information life cycle
• III.7 (DM) – Identify standards for exchange of health information
• V.1 – Apply legal processes impacting health information
• V.2 – Demonstrate compliance with external forces
• V.3 – Identify the components of risk management related to health information management
• V.4 – Identify the impact of policy on health care
• VI.7 – Assess ethical standards of practice

Assessment of Outcomes

Specified on the course schedule/outline

Grading System

For more details about the Grading System, please see the current catalog.

Active Participation

Students must be actively engaged in the course. For a definition of active engagement, please see the current catalog.

Academic Integrity

Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses against the University’s academic integrity and are consequently strictly prohibited. All students must familiarize themselves with the University policy on Academic Integrity.

Penalties for cheating and plagiarism are described in the University policy on Academic Integrity in the catalog. They include failure of the assignment, failure for the course, or dismissal from the University. For the complete Cheating/Plagiarism policy, please see the current catalog.

Students with Disabilities

Students who have disabilities that may impact their performance in this course should follow the process described under the heading Accommodations for the Disabled in the current catalog.

Discipline (Program) - Specific Information

None

Course Schedule

This course requires a minimum of 70% (C) or higher for successful completion.

Grading Criteria

Date of last review: Unknown