Informatics, Telehealth,
and Privacy

How nurses use technology to deliver care, share data safely, and protect patient confidentiality under HIPAA.

NCLEX-RN

What Is Nursing Informatics?

Nursing informatics is the specialty that blends nursing science with information and computer science to manage and communicate data, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice.

The Data-to-Wisdom Continuum

What Is Telehealth?

Telehealth is the use of electronic and telecommunication technologies to deliver health care, education, and monitoring when the nurse and patient are in different locations.

Synchronous

Real-time video or phone visit between nurse and patient.

Asynchronous

"Store-and-forward" data sent for later review, like wound photos.

Remote Monitoring

Devices transmit vitals from home to the care team continuously.

The Core Rule: HIPAA & Privacy

The "minimum necessary" principle can be expressed as keeping access at the lowest level required for the task:

$$ \text{Access} = \min\big(\text{role}, \text{need-to-know}\big) $$

What Counts as PHI?

1

Identifiers: name, address, birth date, SSN, medical record number.

2

Clinical data: diagnoses, lab results, medications, images.

3

Linked information: any data tied to a patient's identity, in any form: spoken, written, or electronic.

Privacy vs. Confidentiality vs. Security

	Privacy	Confidentiality	Security
Focus	Patient's right to control their info	Nurse's duty to protect shared info	Technical safeguards to protect data
Example	Choosing who is told a diagnosis	Not gossiping about a chart	Using strong passwords, encryption
Tools	Consent forms	Professional ethics	Firewalls, access controls

How to Protect PHI: A Checklist

1

Log off and never share your unique login or password.

2

Access only your patients: do not look up coworkers, family, or celebrities.

3

Verify identity and use a private, encrypted line for telehealth visits.

4

Report breaches immediately, even accidental ones, per facility policy.

Example 1: Minimum Necessary

A billing clerk requests a patient's full chart to process an insurance claim for a single ankle X-ray.

Example 2: Telehealth Setup

A nurse is about to start a video visit with a homebound patient on a personal laptop in a shared office.

✓ Do

Use the secure facility platform; find a private room; confirm patient identity.

✕ Avoid

Open Wi-Fi, unencrypted apps, or others overhearing the call.

Example 3: Spotting a Breach

A nurse overhears two colleagues discussing a celebrity patient's diagnosis by the elevator. What is the priority?

1

Recognize this as a confidentiality breach: PHI in a public area.

2

Redirect the conversation to a private location.

3

Report per facility policy if the breach already occurred.

Common Mistakes

✕ Shared logins

Using another nurse's password removes the audit trail and violates policy.

✕ Curiosity browsing

Looking at a famous patient's chart without a care reason is a HIPAA violation.

✕ Posting online

Even with no name, posting case details on social media can identify a patient.

Quick Summary

	Concept	Nurse Action
Informatics	Turn data into wisdom	Document accurately in the EHR
Telehealth	Care at a distance	Use secure, private platforms
PHI	Identifiable health data	Apply minimum necessary
HIPAA	Federal privacy law	Disclose on need-to-know
Breach	Improper PHI disclosure	Report immediately

Let's Check Understanding

Apply what you learned about informatics, telehealth, and privacy to 5 NCLEX-style questions.

Question 1 of 5

A nurse needs to share a patient's blood glucose result with the dietitian. Which action best follows HIPAA?

The minimum necessary standard requires sharing only the specific data needed for the task: the glucose result.

Question 2 of 5

Which of the following is considered PHI?

PHI is any identifiable health information. A patient's name tied to a diagnosis can be traced to that person.

Question 3 of 5

A nurse is starting a telehealth video visit. Which setup is most appropriate?

Telehealth requires a private location and an encrypted, facility-approved platform to protect PHI.

Question 4 of 5

A coworker asks to use your EHR login because they forgot theirs. The best response is to:

Sharing logins destroys the audit trail and violates security policy. Each user must have unique credentials.

Question 5 of 5

A nurse accidentally faxes PHI to the wrong office. What is the priority action?

Even accidental disclosures are breaches and must be reported promptly so the facility can mitigate harm.

Informatics, Telehealth,and Privacy

What Is Nursing Informatics?

The Data-to-Wisdom Continuum

What Is Telehealth?

The Core Rule: HIPAA & Privacy

What Counts as PHI?

Privacy vs. Confidentiality vs. Security

How to Protect PHI: A Checklist

Example 1: Minimum Necessary

Example 2: Telehealth Setup

Example 3: Spotting a Breach

Common Mistakes

Quick Summary

Let's Check Understanding

Question 1 of 5

Question 2 of 5

Question 3 of 5

Question 4 of 5

Question 5 of 5

You've Got the Key Ideas

Informatics, Telehealth,
and Privacy