21st Century Cures Act: Impacts on Patient and Care
Healthcare Informatics
Wilson College
21st Century Cures Act: Impacts on Patient and Care
Patient Health Information Violation
The infraction relating to HIPAA violation was by Martha Smith-Lightfoot who
happens to be a former nurse at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC)
(Donovan, 2018). The nurse admitted to PHI disclosure when she took over 3,000 patient
health information belonging to her former employer (URMC) to the new employer Greater
Rochester Neurology (GRN) (Donovan, 2018). The PHI consists of the client’s names,
addresses, date of birth, and diagnoses. Nurse Martha Smith-Lightfoot was given a twelve-
month suspension, three years of a probationary period, and a one-year extended suspension
(Donovan, 2018). Additionally, URMC pledged to provide instruction to its employees on
rules and procedures surrounding the protection and use of PHI after being fined $15,000 for
the HIPAA breach (Donovan, 2018).
Future Occurrence Prevention and Potential Issues
Several steps may be taken to avoid Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act (HIPAA) breaches about the transfer of patient health data from one employer to another,
including.
1. Education and Training: Make certain that all staff members receive training on
HIPAA rules and the significance of safeguarding patient health information (PHI)
(Zhou et al., 2019).
2. Controls of Access: Restrict individuals who can access and transmit PHI by putting
in place stringent access restrictions, taking advantage of robust authentication
techniques (Multiple factor authentication (MFA) and distinct user IDs (Zhou et al.,
2019).
3. Audit Trails: To keep an eye out for and identify any illegal activity, keep thorough
audit logs of all PHI access and transfers (Zhou et al., 2019).
4. Encrypt all personal health information (PHI) while it's in transit and at rest to prevent
unwanted access (Zhou et al., 2019)
5. Establish and implement explicit rules and processes for managing PHI, including
guidelines for record transfers between companies (Zhou et al., 2019).
6. Exit Process: Establish official leave processes for departing workers, making sure
they sign paperwork admitting their obligations to retrieve all PHI (Zhou et al., 2019).
However, future potential issues from this PHI violation are those related to:
1. Legal Repercussions: Serious legal repercussions, such as fines, penalties, and
possible criminal prosecution, may follow a HIPAA violation (Edemekong et al.,
2023).
2. Loss of Trust: If the medical facility handles personal health information (PHI)
improperly, clients may stop trusting it, which could adversely impact the provider's
reputation and standing (Edemekong et al., 2023).
3. Identity Theft: Patients may suffer serious consequences from identity theft and
financial fraud brought on by unauthorized access to personal health information (PH
I) (Edemekong et al., 2023)
4. Operational Interruptions: Economic losses and a decline in customer satisfaction may
result in legal proceedings and inquiries that interfere with medical services
(Edemekong et al., 2023).
5. Increased Criticism: Regulatory agencies may be more likely to investigate and verify
for conformity with entities that have a previous record of HIPAA infractions
(Edemekong et al., 2023).
Healthcare businesses can more effectively secure patient information and steer clear
of HIPAA breaches by putting these preventative measures into place and being conscious of
the potential risks.
21st Century Cures Act
Under the 21st Century Cures Act's requirement that clients access their medical data,
particularly appointment logs and laboratory test findings, through a secure online platform,
client access to health information has been profoundly impacted. The 21st Century Cures
Act's advantages include:
1. Empowerment: Individuals obtain significant autonomy over their medical records,
which enables them to make better decisions regarding their treatment (Risk
Management Foundation, 2025)
2. Transparency: Improved confidence and interaction between patients and providers can
result from more openness in the healthcare industry (Risk Management Foundation,
2025).
3. Convenience: Clients no longer require trips to medical institutions because they can
retrieve their medical records from any location (Risk Management Foundation, 2025).
4. Improved Treatment Coordination: Having access to thorough medical records will help
various healthcare practitioners better coordinate patient treatment, which will enhance
patient outcomes (Risk Management Foundation, 2025).
However, the negative aspects of the 21st Century Cures Act are related to:
1. Privacy Concerns: Whenever adequate safety precautions are not in place, there may
be a chance that confidential medical data might be accessed without authorization
(Brooks et al., 2023).
2. Misinterpretation: Erroneous self-diagnosis or needless worry can result from
individuals misinterpreting medical data in the absence of appropriate context or
advice from medical professionals (Brooks et al., 2023).
3. Technical Problems: Issues with connectivity or system outages might make it
difficult to obtain medical records, which can affect patient treatment (Brooks et al.,
2023).
4. Administrative Burden: To maintain regulatory compliance and handle medical data
demands, medical personnel might be confronted with a higher administrative load
(Brooks et al., 2023).
However, mechanisms for regular surveillance and enhancement are crucial to
addressing these issues; thus, maintaining the highest standards of care safety and
effectiveness may be facilitated by routine safety inspections, user feedback collection, and
telehealth infrastructure improvements (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,
2020). Therefore, for telehealth services to be implemented successfully and continue to
develop, cooperation between healthcare professionals, technology specialists, clients,
government agencies, and insurance organizations is needed (U.S. Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services, 2020). Also, stakeholders may prioritize patient safety while ensuring that
telehealth services are proportionate, accessible, and available through partnership (U.S.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2020).
References
Brooks, J. V., Zegers, C., Sinclair, C. T., Wulff-Burchfield, E., Thimmesch, A. R., English, D.,
& Nelson-Brantley, H. V. (2023). Understanding the Cures Act information blocking
rule in cancer care: A mixed methods exploration of patient and clinician perspectives
and recommendations for policymakers. BMC Health Services Research, 23(216).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09230-z
Donovan, F. (2018). New York suspends nurse for HIPAA violation affecting 3K patients.
Informa TechTarget.
https://www.techtarget.com/healthtechsecurity/news/366595914/New-York-Suspends-
Nurse-for-HIPAA-Violation-Affecting-3K-Patients
Edemekong, P. F., Annamaraju P., Afzal, M., & Haydel, M. J. (2023). Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance. Treasure Island (FL):
StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK500019/
Risk Management Foundation. (2025). Cures Act Overview. CRICO.
https://www.rmf.harvard.edu/Risk-Prevention-and-Education/Article-Catalog-Page/
Articles/2021/Cures-Act-Overview
U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2020). Interoperability and patient access
fact sheet. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/interoperability-and-patient-
access-fact-sheet
Zhou, L., Thieret, R., Watzlaf, V., Dealmedia, D., & Paaramanto, B. (2019). A telehealth
privacy and security self-assessment questionnaire for telehealth providers:
Development and validation. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 11(1), 3.
doi:https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2019.6276
