Ethical Issues In Health And Social Care Essay

Currently, most people generally accept a doctor’s word as truth and do not question him or her. When it comes to the medical field, patients can often feel overwhelmed by all the confusing medical terms being thrown at them, so they tend to sit back and do as the doctor says. Healthcare professionals sometimes take advantage of this fact and withhold important information from their patients. For instance, a study conducted by Lisa Lezzoni, MD, and her peers states that more than half of physicians lied to their patients about their diagnosis to put a more positive spin on it (Lezzoni, Rao, DesRoches, Vogeli, and Campbell). Healthcare professionals should disclose to the patient any information pertaining to the patient.

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

Exploiting patients is also discussed and can be called into question. When presenting examples or discussing patient’s certain information should never be disclosed due to HIPPA laws as well as confidentiality.

The topic of ethics is prevalent in health care and addresses a broad range of topics in nursing. In almost every interaction with a patient there could be a situation that may bring up the question of ethics. Fortunately, there is the realization that placing the nurse in the care of a patient, may put the medical personnel in an environment where the ethics are questioned. There are whole departments dedicated to advising nurses in these situations. There are also ethic committees to help guide you when you find yourself in a situation that may question your practice or circumstances.

It could lead to potential threats to the patient when information is carelessly shared. Confidential information can be shared when it is a serious case or needs effective care. Information cannot be erased or unshared once it is

Principle 1 of the AHIMA Standards of Ethical Coding states that, “the coder must advocate, uphold, and defend the individual’s right to privacy and the doctrine of confidentiality in the use and disclosure of information (www.ahima.org). This standard is important is all who serve in the department confidentiality is important to maintaining positive relationships with the patient’s they serve. The HIMs must ensure that all confidentiality is being followed by the coder when getting request for protected health information and querying information for certain stakeholders.

from their mistakes. For example, a provision under the children’s Act 1989 and 2004 where the children’s family is given priority in caring for the child in need was used as a reason for leaving the children under their grandparents care even after it was determined that they couldn’t care for them well. As for unethical practice, the mother should have never been allowed to care for children in her condition. How the children were taken away from the mother was also considered unethical because it wasn’t formalized and no help was initially offered to the children’s mother.

I have gained full consent to use this lady as my patient in my care study. Consent is important as you must always gain permission from the patient in regards to their care plan and keep them fully informed. ‘It is vital that the person consents before any treatment, care, examination or assessment’ (Brooker et al., 2007, p.157). ‘Confidentiality is a fundamental part of professional practice that protects human rights’ (NMC, 2008). To maintain my patient’s confidentiality throughout my care study I am going to call her Annie. Annie is a 72 year old lady whose care I have been involved with on placement. Annie’s medical history included; previous left hip replacement, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and

Truth-telling is an important issue within the nurse-patient relationship. Nurses make decisions on a daily basis regarding what information to tell patients. The specific issue in question is whether a nurse should abide by the Code of Ethics for Nurses by revealing the truth to the patient or refrain from telling the truth to the patient because they are respecting the wishes of the patient’s family. Nurses and health care professionals should always tell the truth to their patients unless the patient forgoes their rights to autonomy or cannot think for themselves. By providing the patient with the truth, they allow the patient to come to terms with their conditions and give them the options for further treatment.

Patient confidentiality is a fundamental practice in healthcare and it is integral part of healthcare ethical standards (Purtilo & Dougherty, 2010). According to the American Nurses Association (ANA) code of ethics “the nurse has a duty to maintain confidentiality of all patient information” (Nursing world, p.6). Also, when a patient confidentiality is violated the nurse may risk their safety and welfare. There are a few exceptions to this obligation such as: an increase need to protect the patient and other parties or mandatory laws that protect public health (Nursing world,

Should you share with the Insurance Companies everything a patient tells you, when they say don’t mention ... to my insurance, how do you document that.? I don’t want you to say anything about what I am about to tell you....It is important what we share isn’t it? They have put utter faith in the nurses

Do not discuss patients while you are in public areas. When medical records are not in use, they should be put away. Never remove the patient's official medical record from your office. You should not leave records out where your family members or others may see it. If any copies are made and not used they should be shredded.

On that same day, the patient’s wife stated that her neighbor phoned the hospital to get information on her husband and information was given out. It is clear that the nurse who gave out information regarding the patient was in violation of 3.1, privacy and 3.2, confidentiality of provision 3 of the ANA Code of Ethics. It is the nurse’s duty to maintain all confidentiality and privacy of all patient information. (Nursing World, 2012) Information regarding a patient should only be given out to those who are dealing with the direct care of the patient. It is important for nurses to be aware of those who are not involved with the care of the patient.

Disclosing patient information to a third party, without a patient’s consent or a court order is considered a breach of confidentiality. Legal liability for a breach of confidentiality covers a broader spectrum than ethical guidelines, which lend to doing what is morally right. Confidentiality in nursing comes with an ethical need for creating rapport with patients. Trust established facilitates increased communication and comfort for discussing personal information. There are some exceptions in terms of patient confidentiality; they are ethically and legally justified as a result of social considerations that are overriding. For example, exceptions are made upon

• Take your cues from the cancer patients. Some people are very private while others will openly talk about their health condition. Respect the person’s need to share or their need for privacy.