Physician Patient Confidentiality

Confidentiality is a concept of vast importance for professionals in the medical field. It is a professional obligation in this field and is considered to be an ethical concept that falls in line with integrity, compassion, veracity, charity, and fidelity as explained in both the International Council of Nurses Code for Nurses (1973) and the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics (1985). However, in today’s ever growing world of technology and demand for information, challenges continue to arise that force doctors and nurses to reexamine virtues such as confidentiality.

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.

As a member of a medical professional team, you will work closely with many physicians. As you have read this week, guarding the physician-patient relationship is serious business.In this assignment you will practice what you have learned in chapters 5 and 7 in the Medical Law and Ethics textbook: * Federal privacy laws that pertain to healthcare and the "Patient's Bill of Rights" * Privacy, confidentiality, and privileged communications * Filing birth and death certificates * Examples of communicable diseases which must be reported to local, state and/or federal

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

Care providers strive to provide care that is patient focused that maintains confidentiality and respect. This paper is about the maintenance of patient confidentiality and the trusting relationships that must be maintained between the patient and the healthcare providers.

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,

Confidentiality of Patient

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

Privacy is a concept humans struggle to respect. Privacy is understood as an individual’s personal information. We are naturally curious and from this comes invading each other’s privacy, leading to someone losing their dignity. Dignity is acknowledged as one’s self-respect. As argued in my last essay, Privacy in the Medical Field, we have become less human because we no longer respect each other’s privacy and we see nothing wrong with that.

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.

Confidentiality and privacy are hallmarks of health care in Ontario. A person’s health information belongs to that person and they have a right to consent to the use, collection and disclosure of that information, with limited exceptions. They also have the right to access their personal health information. Most people are very concerned about their privacy, especially when it comes to matters of their health. Moreover, privacy and confidentiality are cornerstones of establishing trust in the therapeutic relationship between the practitioner and the patient/client. This includes keeping any other personal information about a patient/client confidential. A patient/client who can trust that his/her personal health information is being protected is more likely to provide a complete health history, which would enable more effective treatment (CKO, 2013).

As this essay is presented as a case study it is important to consider the issue of confidentiality. To ensure confidentiality is maintained and to comply with the Code of Conduct (NMC, 2008) this essay will uphold patient confidentiality throughout. For the purpose of the essay the patient will be referred to as Mrs B. Although this essay case study has been selected from a patient encountered in clinical practice, no identifying trusts, places of reference and health care professional’s names will be documented.

The popular belief among our society has always been “Parents know what's best”. While their kids are young, parents know how to make their medical decisions for them. Parents know what's best for their children, they know how to keep them safe and healthy. However, their children soon turn into teenagers who should be trusted to make their own choices regarding their health care. They’re no longer the children they once were; they can comprehend the extension of every decision they make. Services and treatments should not be restricted to them because of their age or need for parental consent. Teenagers should be given confidential health care and should be trusted to make the choices that regard themselves. They should be allowed the privacy from everyone, including their parents make those choices.

The confidentiality of patient visits and medical records are essential in providing the highest quality of health care. Under penalty of law, a patient's medical records or any other information regarding the patient may only be released with his or her authorization. Exceptions to this are certain cases specified by law for example, health care providers are required to report certain communicable diseases such as measles. Many organizations and laws have been developed to maintain patient's rights of confidentiality and access to their medical record. Guided by the principle that confidentiality is essential in developing strong trust between patients and healthcare providers, the