PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
This concept was taken from module 3"ethical principles", sub topic 3" confidentiality, equality and fairness".
Privacy and confidentiality is a very important concept in the health care system and must be handled carefully to avoid disclosing crucial information about patients.
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 share their health information. On the other hand, confidentiality is how we, as nurses, treat private information once it has been disclosed to others or ourselves. This disclosure of information
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It is not okay to discuss clinical information in public areas even if a patient's name is not used. This can raise doubts among patients and visitors about our respect for their privacy" (personal communication, Massachusetts General Hospital, Privacy and Confidentiality Committee, 2004).
Actions in healthcare delivery are usually structured and governed by Health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPPA) law. Health care information should not be disclosed unnecessarily. Information should only be shared on a need to know basis.
Patient physician privilege refers to confidential discussions between a patient and the doctor. This information are meant to be kept confidential and on no account should it be disclosed even under oath in the
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Example, there are times when we have patients who were tested positive for HIV and after counselling still refuses to disclose their status to their spouse. The spouse is the one taking of this patient in the hospital and you can see her using her bare hands to handle the secretions of the patient despite been warned to use latex gloves. As a nurse or doctor you understand the implication of it and understand fully well that the wife might also be positive. The patient is already on anti-retroviral drugs and is responding gradually but the wife on the other hand knows nothing. The law permits for the wife to be told about the husband's status and she also counselled to undergo the test. If it comes out positive then the treatment is commenced immediately. The treatment will help to increase her CD4 count and save her life. In some cases HIV patient instead of telling their family members to take precautionary measures when caring for them they don’t and the life of this care givers is put at stake. In such cases the nurses can only ensure that their caregivers are educated on proper use of hand gloves to proper themselves especially when dealing with secretions from patient
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.
Overall these sources proved to provide a great deal of information to this nurse. All sources pertained to HIPAA standards and regulations. This nurse sought out an article from when HIPAA was first passed to evaluate the timeline prospectively. While addressing the implications of patient privacy, these articles relate many current situations nurses and physicians encounter daily. These resources also discussed possible violations and methods to prevent by using an informaticist and information technology.
. HIPAA privacy rules are complicated and extensive, and set forth guidelines to be followed by health care providers and other covered entities such as insurance carriers and by consumers. HIPAA is very specific in its requirements regarding the release of information, but is not as specific when it comes to the manner in which training and policies are developed and delivered within the health care industry. This paper will discuss how HIPAA affects a patient's access to their medical records, how and under what circumstances personal health information can be released to other entities for purposes not related to health care, the requirements regarding written privacy policies for covered entities, the training requirements for medical office employees and the consequences for not following the policy.
“The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 made it illegal to gain access to personal medical information for any reasons other than health care delivery, operations, and reimbursements” (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 166). “HIPAA legislation mandated strict controls on the transfer of personally identifiable health data between two entities, provisions for disclosure of protected information, and criminal penalties for violation” (Clayton 2001). “HIPAA also has privacy requirements that govern disclosure of patient protected health information (PHI) placed in the medical record by physicians, nurses, and other health care providers” (Buck, 2011). Always remember conversations about a patient’s health care or treatment is a violation of HIPAA. “All PHI is included in the privacy requirements for example: the patient’s past, present or future physical or mental health or condition; the provision of health care to the individual, or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual, and that identifies the individual or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe it can be used to identify the individual” (Buck, 2011). Other identifiable health information would be the patient’s name, address, birth date and Social Security Number (Keomouangchanh, 2011). (Word count 197)
US Congress created the HIPAA bill in 1996 because of public concern about how their private information was being used. It is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which Congress created to protect confidentiality, privacy and security of patient information. It was also for health care documents to be passed electronically. HIPAA is a privacy rule, which gives patients control over their health information. Patients have to give permission any health care provider can disclose any information placed in the individual’s medical records. It helps limit protected health information (PHI) to minimize the chance of inappropriate disclosure. It establishes national-level standards that healthcare providers must comply with and strictly investigates compliance related issues while holding violators to civil or criminal penalties if they violate the privacy of a person’s PHI. HIPAA also has boundaries for using and disclosing health records by covered entities; a healthcare provider, health plan, and health care clearinghouse. It also supports the cause of disclosing PHI without a person’s consent for individual healthcare needs, public benefit and national interests. The portability part of HIPAA guarantees patient’s health insurance to employees after losing a job, making sure health insurance providers can’t discriminate against people because of health status or pre-existing condition, and keeps their files safe while being sent electronically. The Privacy Rule protects individual’s health information and requires medical providers to get consent for the release of any medical information and explain how private health records are protected. It also allows patients to receive their medical records from any...
Today, you have more reason than ever to care about the privacy of your medical information. This information was once stored in locked file cabinets and on dusty shelves in the medical records department.
Every patient that is admitted to hospital, or seen by a health professional has a right to his or her own privacy, and it is through ensuring professional boundaries are upheld that this basic right can be achieved. According to Levett-Jones and Bourgeois (2011, pp. 237) confidentiality is an obligation made by a professional to respect the information given by a patient to healthcare professional. In this modern age, privacy can be hard as society relies on technology as a form of communication, allowing for information to be more readily available. However, by posting on Facebook about a patient or informing a friend, the trust created in a therapeutic relationship is breach and is called a boundary crossing. Thompson (2010, pp.26) understands that “At times, boundary crossing may be unintentional, but emphasizes th...
It’s vital as well for the nurse to spot and report any form of breachment in confidentiality or morally unjust actions. Being silent can be just as lethal as the one performing the
Given a case scenario participants should be able to differentiate those situations where patient confidentiality is not followed.
...y is not absolute and that the disclosure and justification of some individuals cases can potentially be successful. Moreover the person who disclosed the information will always be the person under scrutiny of the common law. Professionally, if the health care worker adhere to the policy it offers much protection for the topic of confidentiality and the correct attitude to retain information correctly.
Patient confidentiality is one of the foundations of the medical practice. Patients arrive at hospitals seeking treatment believing that all personal information will remain between themselves and the medical staff. In order to assure patients privacy, confidentiality policies were established. However, a confidentiality policy may be broken only in the case the medical staff believes that the patient is a danger to themselves or to others in society. Thesis Statement: The ethics underlying patient confidentiality is periodically questioned in our society due to circumstances that abruptly occur, leaving health professionals to decide between right and wrong.
Exceptions to confidentiality include healthcare providers who care for a patient between one another regarding patient care and treatment. Another exception to breaching confidentiality includes mandatory reports. Mandatory reports are legislative requirements under the government authorities and may include any incident or knowledge of suspected neglect, physical or sexual abuse of children to the Child Protection Services, any maltreatment of dependent adults, or serious bodily injuries that are discovered related to the treatments of a
Doctor patient confidentiality, is a fundamental element of the practice of medicine. Patients can expect that doctors and their support staff will hold confidential information about them in confidence, unless the release of the information is required by law or for public interest reasons. Ensuring confidentiality is retained allows doctors to examine their patients and receive all relevant information about their condition without a worry of judgement or sharing of the information.
Nurses need to consider the issues of confidentiality before deciding whether information disclosure is appropriate. The best practice is to obtain the consent of the patient unless their safety is at risk of harm or a serious crime committed. This log outlined some of the key issues of confidentiality and noted that confidentiality can be complex concept. Therefore, nurses must carefully balance the need to maintain confidentiality against the needs and welfare of individuals. I attended a full day trust induction before my placement and surprised that they did not discuss confidentiality and information sharing. In addition, we had our Information Governance training that we need to do before placement and learned the importance and our responsibility when it comes to confidentiality and handling patient’s informations. However, all student and registered nurses will benefit from ongoing confidential training and it will help them with
When some states require specific disclosure laws or guidelines. To establish in legal matters confidential moral responsibility for professional level of confidentiality. Abortion, the issue is required by state law, many states require parental notification. Doctor-patient confidentiality, from the English common law in many countries codification regulations. Doctors have a responsibility to warn patients who are threaten bodily harm people. Doctor-patient confidentiality is not absolute. Doctors must disclose personal information, it is clearly in the interests of the patient. Doctors can not pass moral judgment; they are here just to make sure your child has the best preventive care possible. Please note that when it comes to