Confidentiality is one of the main duties of health care providers. They are required to keep a patient’s health information private unless patient consent to release of the information (De Bord et al, 2013). Dilemmas in patient’s confidentiality may arise when there is disagreement between the principle of confidentiality and other ethical principles such as avoiding harm to the patient or others.
The main aims of this paper is to explain my professional position concerning patient confidentiality. Including explanation of the ethical consequences of a breach of confidentiality, provides ethical principles to support my point, find out valid alternative to deal with dilemma. Finally describe the role of ethics committee in resolving dilemma
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The implications of breaking confidentiality would be the patients lose of trust in the healthcare provider. The patient’s loss of trust is detrimental to healthcare practice because patients will not provide all needed information due to fear that their secret might be revealed to third party. Patients may at times fail to seek medical help altogether when their privacy is exposed (Nathason, 2000). Breaking the confidential agreement between a patient and healthcare provider is equal to not respecting the patient’s privacy. Healthcare providers are bound by the Hippocratic Oath to uphold their patient’s privacy and the patients expect them to do so
In the case of Nurse Hathway and the teenage girl scenario, fidelity, confidentiality and respect for person’s autonomy are involved. The nurse gains the trust of this young girl by promising her that the information she provided would be confidential. But this young girl is diagnosed with cervical cancer, the nurse decide to breach the confidentiality she promised the teenager, because they need her parent support and consent for the treatments. By informing the school system of the situation, she breaches the confidentiality because HPV and cervical cancer are not legally reportable STDs (Nathason,
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Step one: collecting useful data. Find out exactly what is going on in that patient’s life. The patient’s relationship with the parents. If the patient is in abusive home environment? Step two: identifying the type of ethical problem. The ethical dilemma in this case is whether this nurse to keep promise made to the patient or to break in order to make sure patient receive adequate care. Step three: Using ethical theories to examine the problem. The use of ethical analysis will help the nurse to move toward resolution and to take action that are compatible with caring response (Purtilo & Doherty, 2011). Step four: Evaluate the practical alternatives: The nurse should list all alternatives. She can discuss the alternatives with one of her colleague whom she trust and share this type of situation without breaching patient’s confidentiality. Step five: Complete the action: The nurse require courage and strength to act, bearing in mind that there may be some risks (Purtilo & Doherty, 2011). Step six: Evaluating the process and outcome. The nurse determine what she did well, why she think is appropriate intervention, the most challenging part of the situation and what the patient and her family, and others said about the action taken (Purtilo & Doherty,
To begin the understanding of confidentiality, the author first provided readers with a formal concept analysis on confidentiality. He explained how confidentiality did not truly become a concept of interested until 1961, when the general nursing guides made a small mention related to the concept in regards to privileged
When confidential patient information is disclosed without consent it is a violation of the HIPAA Title II Security Rule. This rule was enacted in response to private information being leaked to the news and emails containing privileged information were read by unauthorized people. Identity theft is a real concern so patient privacy should be taken seriously. This is a rule can easily be broken without the
The topics that will be discussed in this paper will be the ethical decisions that have to be made by Dr. F and the RN in regards to disclosing information to Dr. J. Also, according to the NANDA nursing diagnosis for ethical consideration, Dr. F and the RN also have to consider if Mrs. Z has some knowledge deficits in regards to her prognosis and if due to her culture, she feels powerlessness towards her diagnosis. Ethical theories are important to justifying and relating situations in nursing. In this paper, there will be discussions relating ethical theories to nursing, as well as, ethical decision making models that will relate to the delivery of healthcare.
It is also just as important to keep a confidentiality because of data protection legislation which enforces the rights of the individual to have their personal information protected (Legislation.gov.uk, 1998). So legally, healthcare professionals have a duty to protect the healthcare user’s personal information, at least to the legal minimum, or face proceedings. On top of this though, there is a further responsibility placed on the healthcare professional to respect the right of the user to their private life and beliefs. This is outlined by the NMC’s Code (2012) which reiterates the Data Protection Act, 1998 and further clarifies the lengths that healthcare professionals should go to ensure the healthcare user’s confidentiality and privacy is protected.
This article has shown how different issues relating to patient privacy can be tricky. There is always the question about what the right thing is to do but there are laws and regulations
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’’
The elements of the principles of confidentiality can be broken down into four separate categories: (1) Information provided by the patient is kept confidential unless consent from the patient has otherwise been given—unless it has direct legal implications or endangers the general public. (2) Informed Consent: is given freely, because the correct information has been supplied and the patient has sufficient information on the impacts involved. Information is otherwise given out on a need to know basis. (3) Duty of Care: Information is given out in order to protect the safety and health of others and the patient. Legal and general public health fall under this category. (4) Documenting Decisions: Consultations and actions that lead to
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.
As a professional health care worker, the implication confidentiality breach regarding ethical dilemmas are significant to nurse and patient. The information disclosed can cause problems on a personal and professional level. Breach of confidentiality occurs when the heath care work discloses the patient 's medical or personal information without the patient 's informed written or verbal consent. Confidentiality is needed between the nurse and the patient to maintain a good open and honest relationship between both parties. There are several ethical implications regarding breach of confidentiality, for example,
As an effective and ethical leader, it is of most importance that they create and foster an ethically principled environment. In this scenario, the importance of patient confidentiality would be identified and addressed with all staff members of the health team. Ethical behaviors would be discussed with each team member in order to ensure that the healthcare needs of the patient are met as well as their privacy protected. A new process would be implemented so that patients would be identified by assigned numbers instead of identified by name. Also it would be enforced that no patient be treated in an open area unless some
With the utilization of the Act-utilitarianism mindset, an alternative plan of action to focus on the circumstances surrounding Andrea and the community at large can be established using Uustals ethical decision making model. The nine steps identified by Uustal can allow the nursing process to be applied in an effort to guide the nurse in practicing proper judgment. The quandary involves community, personal and patient dilemmas. While many nurses strive for adhesion to values of patient autonomy and keeping ones word, the very nature of health care can raise cause for nurses to contradict and deviate from their own ethical stand points, all in an effort to do the right thing. Due to Andrea’s development of cervical cancer, nurse Hathaway was right in disclosing the minor’s disease to her parents. Adolescents usually are covered by their family’s insurance, but they may not have coverage for unaccompanied care, and they may
“Professional integrity derives its substance from the fundamental goals or mission of the profession” (Wakin, 1996, para. 15). Meaning to say, individuals seek for a professional’s valued and ethical advice to which the professional holds their responsibility to maintain and exceeds the level of their expertise. For example, a general practitioner will treat a variety of patients, from all different walks of life with a plethora of different problems. It is their duty to diagnose and treat the patient to the best of their professional ability without prejudice. Another aspect of their duties is the principle of patient confidentiality. Medical professionals are legally bound to not divulge any information provided to them by their patients.
`Ethics' is defined as ."..the basis on which people...decide that certain actions are right or wrong and whether one ought to do something or has a right to something"(Rumbold, 1986). In relating `ethics' to nursing care, "Nursing decisions affect people... nurses have the power to good or harm to their patients" (Bandman et al, 2002). In this essay, the author will also identify the most important ethical principles and concepts of Evan's case, will outline the different stages of one's approach to ethical decision-making by utilising the "DECIDE Model for Ethical Decision-Making" founded by Thompson et al (2000) and will make a decision on the best course of action to take as a nurse in this
The main focus of the article is to look at the absolute value of patients’ confidentiality. Blightman et al. look at the pros and cones of breaking patient’s confidentiality and conclude that a breached of confidentiality is in order when it is necessary to obtain consent, as required by law, or when it is in the best interest of the public. The article is useful to my subject, since it examines in details the main issues involving the safeguard of patients’ information. In addition, the authors define confidential information, looks at breaching confidentiality for consent, audits, protection of children, disclosure to family and friends, statutory disclosure, prevention of crime, public interest, public safety, public health, and disclosure to the media. The paper publication is Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain, which s a joint publication of the British Journal of Anaesthesia and The Royal College of Anaesthetists in the UK. It is also the official journal of The Faculty of Pain Medicine and The College of Anaesthetists of Ireland. Publication in such an esteemed journal requires utterly scrutinized of reliability and credibility of the information provided. I found the article educational and thorough in its coverage of aspects of breach of patient information. It is also well written and easy to understand.
Knowing the difference between privacy and confidentiality can be confusing. Privacy is the right of individuals to keep information about themselves from being disclosed; that is, people (our patients) are in control of others access to themselves or information about themselves. Patients decide who, when, and where to