Compulsory Covering Cases

The personal Health Information Protection Act sets out rules for the collection, use and disclosure of personal Health information. I discussed with my preceptor situations that demonstrate confidentiality regulations. she explained to me while counseling patient she always respects patient's confidentiality by providing private counseling area. Health information of the patient is shared only with health care professionals. With some exceptions, the legislation requires health information custodians to obtain consent before they collect, use or disclose personal health information. Individual have the right to access and request correction of their own personal health information. I also discussed about OCP code of ethics relevant to the

Disclosing confidential patient information without patient consent can happen in the health care field quite often and is the basis for many cases brought against health care facilities. There are many ways confidential information gets into the wrong hands and this paper explores some of those ways and how that can be prevented.

Discuss what is required to disclose patient information to family members, friends, and when ordered by courts or government

The only person that can disclose information of their own medical record is the patient. Some exception where the information can be use without the patient document law issues to protect the patient concern as Criminal Acts, Legal Ordered, Communicable Diseases and Mandated.

Confidentiality in the Healthcare arena can be simply defined as the moral and ethical duty of the Practitioner to keep all the patient’s bio-data under lock and key, and offer a disclosure of those facts that the patient is legally mandated to disclose or deems fit to enhance their positive health outcome. According to the Segen’s Medical Dictionary, “Confidentiality is the ethical principle that a physician may not reveal any information disclosed in the course of medical care, unless the patient who disclosed that information poses a threat to him, herself or others’’

Confidentiality is considered a core value or principal in the medical practice. Confidentiality is a right that all people have within the medical field. This is the requirement of health care providers to keep a person’s information exclusive unless the patient or the person consents in the form of a release to share that information with other people that practice. Usually the consent is given when a doctor wants to consult with a different doctor for example. In this case it would be for the betterment of the person.

In the medical field or any other professions, privacy is paramount. One of the most important things is confidentiality. In this case, patients should be able to trust that they treating physicians will not disclose their personal information to other parties without their consent. The question then becomes: Under what circumstances is it alright for physicians to disclose private medical information to third party without informed consent? Did Dr. Shapiro have the right to disclose Mr. Lovington’s private medical information to his wife Anna, who is also his patient?

Law and ethics state that the doctor-patient interaction should remain confidential. The physician should never reveal confidential information unless the patient wants this information disclosed to others, or unless required to do so by law. If the release of information is warranted, information should be released in the form of an official signed document.

We are all aware that our medical information is available to ourselves as the patient and to any physicians we may see in the course of our medical treatment, but do we realize who else has access to our records without our knowledge or permission? I decided to write about release of information after I had a notification at work that I could not look at my own records after notifying HIM there was a coding error. This paper is not meant to be all encompassing but will include the reasons Law enforcement might be allowed PHI without the patient’s knowledge or consent.

Health care professionals are subject to a multitude of professional, legal, and ethical responsibilities which call for personal judgment to be utilized in such a manner as to protect clients as well as public wellness and interests. Overall considerations in handling such duties may be considered to be respect of a client’s autonomy, confidence, and recognition of obligations owed to all clients. While the aforementioned acts fall within the professional realm, there are also legal implications that guide care. Therefore, it can be said that ethical considerations occur in observation of legal responsibilities. Confidential information is perceived as private facts which are disclosed with the

Kipnis contemplates the significance of legal vs ethical duties medical professionals have to their clients. He sides with the need for confidentiality without condition. If conditions exist that make it possible for private information about a patient to be shared with a third party, that patient needs to be informed of this prior to treatment before information is gathered. Kipnis believes the outcome of this would result in two possible groups of people. One is the patient who would disclose information to a third party either doing it themselves or by allowing the professional to do so for them. The second group would be patients not willing to be open and honest with details when they do not wish to have them known. He reasons that if the patient knows that whatever they tell a professional is unconditionally confidential then they are more likely to be forthcoming and honest with details they might otherwise not be. The patient might not tell details necessary for proper diagnosis and treatment or they may not follow through with treatment at all. If the professional has no idea that a third party may need protection, knowledge of the potential threat, at least gives the medical professional an opportunity to try to help or stop the potential injury from happening using means that stop short of disclosing confidential information. Kipnis holds to the concept that the physician has a greater responsibility to

This essay will discuss why confidentiality is important within nursing practice and the reasons why a registered nurse and student nurse are accountable and to whom they are accountable to in relation to patient care. It will further discuss patient’s rights in relation to law.

An important issue also posted in this discussion is patient personal information. Healthcare is among the most personal services rendered in our society; yet to deliver this care, scores of personnel must have access to intimate patient information. To receive appropriate care, patients must feel free to reveal personal information. In return, the health care provider must treat patient information confidentially and protect its security.

Confidentiality is an ethical duty and it is crucial that patient data is kept confidential. Lowth (2013) states that “patient confidentiality is fundamental to good medical practice”. Patient consent must be taken when medical data is disclosed to any party however information can be disclosed without consent in two situations, firstly if the disclosure is required by law (e.g. court orders and police) and secondly if the disclosure is in the public interest (e.g. road traffic legislation, government authorities such as the DVLA or incidents such where physical harm has been caused to a being then doctors must disclose details to the police (Lowth, 2013).

Exposing patient private and sensitive information can cause harm to the patient as well as his/her relatives. This is the reason medical professionals are compelled by the law especially the HIPAA privacy rule to ensure that patient personal information is kept private and confidential. Exposing patient private and sensitive information is one of the unethical behaviors in the medical profession. In medical profession, the code of ethics ensures that medical practitioners remain professional (American Nurses Association 21). This ensures high quality service delivery as well as ensuring that the patients are protected from any possible harm by the actions of the medics. Privacy is one of the key issues in medical profession. The behavior of medical practitioners leaking patient information is unethical and thus can harm the patient. Patient information has to be kept private and thus the medics are compelled to ensure confidentially. However, there are various circumstance in which the information can be shared. In medical profession, confidentially is paramount and thus patients ought to be assured of their privacy. Some illnesses such as HIV/AIDS can make the patient traumatized and thus such information has to remain confidential between the medical practitioner and the patient (Kuo et al 25). The code of ethics on patient privacy and confidentiality have been supported by Kantian ethics theory on individual morality. Any behavior leading to exposure of patient