Case studies assist in understanding key areas of concern in a healthcare environment. A case study is a real-world experience that allows the student to apply their knowledge. Case studies provides a comprehensive view of diverse theories and the complexity of administrative actions in resolving issues that occur in healthcare operations.
Big Brother Is Watching: Part II
Sharon B. Buchbinder
Hyacinth Higgins woke up at six in the morning, took a shower, and dressed for work as a customer service supervisor for We Care Health Insurance—at home. At seven in the morning, she woke her two elementary school children, Hetta and Henry, aka Junior, rushed them through their morning ablutions and urged them to finish their milk and cereal. They made it to class on time—at home.
By eight in the morning, Hyacinth’s husband, Henry (Senior), had already been at work for eight hours of his 12-hour shift. An essential worker, Senior works in a large warehouse for an enormous online shopping company. From the moment Senior walked through the door of the warehouse and had his temperature taken remotely until the moment he clocked out for the day, his manager monitored his productivity via a tracker on his belt. In addition, the social distancing tool alerted his manager if he strayed from the six foot mandate and got too close to co-workers.
Hetta and Junior had three breaks from their school tablets; two were for exercise and bathroom breaks, and one was for lunch. After stopping at the grocery store and pharmacy on the way home, Senior walked in the door at noon and joined the family for a bite to eat at a do-it-yourself sandwich buffet. Hyacinth ate, ran to the bathroom, and was back to her computer within the 30 minutes allotted for her meal break. If she was late, her manager would be texting her, asking why she wasn’t working, and sending her screen shots of her empty seat.
Over lunch, the kids asked for permission to play Internet video games with their friends after school, but Hyacinth said no. She needed the bandwidth for work until five in the evening. Before he went to bed, Senior reminded the children they had homework to do. “Work first, then play your games—after dinner.”
Hyacinth slid into her desk chair just as her boss’s face popped up on her screen.
Horatio Hornblower frowned. “I noticed your recorded phone calls are down today. Is there a problem?”
Hyacinth shook her head. “Take a look at my keystrokes and my mouse movements, along with the regular snapshots of my screen in the monitoring program. You’ll see I’ve been researching a customer complaint. We might be open to a law suit.”
“Explain yourself,” Horatio harumphed. “Legal matters require in-house counsel review.”
“Mrs. Doubtfire is concerned someone in our company may have provided her HIPAA personal health information (PHI) to her ex-husband. We do not have written consent from our customer to release her PHI to him. Upon further investigation, it appears one of our junior customer service employees may have breached HIPAA. I was about to listen to her recorded phone calls.”
“Send me everything you have,” Horatio snapped. “I’ll look into this myself. If it’s true, this is a terrible invasion of privacy.”
TIP: When reviewing your case study summarize key areas to that should be addressed. Keep in mind the expectation of regulatory bodies to ensure compliance of appropriate care planning.
References:
Buchbinder, S., Shanks, N., Buchbinder, D. & Kite, B. (2023). Cases in Health Care Management. 2nd Ed.; Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Connolly, R. (2020, December 14). The pandemic has taken surveillance of workers to the next level. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/14/pandemic-workers-surveillance-monitor-jobsLinks to an external site.
Finnegan, M. (2020, October 29). The new normal: When work-from-home means the boss is watching. Computer World. https://www.computerworld.com/article/3586616/the-new-normal-when-work-from-home-means-the-boss-is-watching.htmlLinks to an external site.
Gershgorn, D. (2020, November 12). Welcome back to the office. Please wear this tracking device. Medium. https://onezero.medium.com/welcome-back-to-the-office-please-wear-this-tracking-device-98747a66750fLinks to an external site.
Rodriguez, K., & Windwehr, S. (2020, September 10). Workplace surveillance in times of Corona. Electronic Frontier Foundation. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/09/workplace-surveillance-times-coronaLinks to an external site.
Satariano, A. (2020, May 7). How my boss monitors me while I work from home. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/technology/employee-monitoring-work-from-home-virus.htmlLinks to an external site.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2017, June 16). HIPAA for professionals. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/index.htmlLinks to an external site.
Instructions
In this activity you will complete an analysis of the identified case study. Your analysis should include a discussion of the issues in the case which detail the contributory factors and the impact should the issue go unaddressed. In addition please address the following:
Identify the issue
Identify the relevant parties
Review policies and procedure and regulations that may impact your decision
Conduct additional research to support your decision making.
Provide a description on how you arrived at your recommended solution.
Discuss one to two ways to minimize future occurrences, including how you would measure the effectiveness of solution.
TIP: An analysis is supported by research of your identified problem using trade journals and peer reviewed articles.
Requirements:
(1) page paper plus (1) title page and reference page
Format your paper using APA style
Include (2) scholarly references used as in-text citations to support your writing (these should be under 5 years old)
On the Case
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAnalyze the issue of the case and relevant parties
Identify the issue
Identify the relevant parties
25 pts
Full Marks
0 pts
No Marks
25 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeRecommended Solution
Provide a description on how you arrived at your recommended solution.
25 pts
Full Marks
0 pts
No Marks
25 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeMinimize Future Occurrences
Discuss one to two ways to minimize future occurrences, including how you would measure the effectiveness of solution.
25 pts
Full Marks
0 pts
No Marks
25 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSupporting Documentation
Review and identify policies, procedures and regulations that may impact your decision
Conduct additional research to support your decision making.
15 pts
Full Marks
0 pts
No Marks
15 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeMechanics
Responses are written at the college level. Assignment is free of spelling and grammar errors. Follows APA guidelines set forth in the instructions.
10 pts
Full Marks
0 pts
No Marks
10 pts
Total Points: 100