Part 1: Promotion of Health Care Services
The choice of the medium of promotion is largely dependent on a cost-benefit analysis (Milner, 2007). Print media and the internet are the most efficacious mediums for advertising. The newspaper and magazines are the most common forms of print media. The first advantage of using the print media is that it allows the advertiser to choose space for advertising, making it possible to manage the monetary aspect. Secondly, some forms of print media have prodigious and reputable acolytes. However, print media has downsides. Firstly after publication and distribution, errors cannot be rectified. Secondly print media is limited to geographical areas, and thirdly the process of placing an advert is often tedious and inflexible.
The internet, on the other hand, offers a cost-effective forum. The advertisers have access to customers globally; utilization of the internet transcends geographical boundaries. Furthermore, it is possible to rectify errors with ease upon their detection. However, there are downsides. First, the materials used in the advert are available for duplication. The information may then be utilized to mock or slander the company. A second disadvantage is the introduction of the ad clutter; the ads and spam emails are so inundating that users are beginning to ignore them. As accentuated, there are pros and cons for utilizing any of the two mediums. Therefore to expand the promotional mix, companies should deploy both forms simultaneously.
Part 2: How the HIPAA Works
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in 1996; its prime function was to modernize the flow of medical information. The Act was enacted after it became palpable that in the future health information would be stored digitally. The act intended to establish a set of uniform electronic healthcare transaction codes. To address the requirements of the Act the United States department of health and human services published the privacy rule, security rule, enforcement rule and the final Omnibus Rule. The Act has revolutionized access and sharing of healthcare information. Patients are bestowed upon the right to authorize access to their individual health records by third parties unless an exception such as a legal requirement applies. In instances of exceptions the "minimum necessary rule" applies and only minimum requisite information can be accessed and utilized. The act has succeeded in ensuring privacy and responsible divulgence of patient healthcare information (Solove, 2013).
References
Milner, K. (2007). The Code of Practice for Promotion of NHS Services. Journal of Management & Marketing in Healthcare, 1(1), 13-18. doi:10.1179/mmh.2007.1.1.13
Solove, D. J. (2013). HIPAA Turns 10: Analyzing the Past, Present and Future Impact. AHIMA,84(4), 22-28.
