Ethical Issues In Health Care

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Healthcare organizations are trusted with the most private information of their patients and employees, which has become a top priority in today's world. This involves a legal, a moral and an ethical duty to protect all information of this type by having security and privacy safeguards in place.
There are some categories of health information the require special protection under laws and may need a higher degree of security. They are as listed;
• Mental Health Records
• HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases
• Substance abuse and chemical dependency records
• Certain procedures and testing o Certain surgeries o certain tests o abortions o family planning o genetic testing o cosmetic surgery
Some of these listed are controversial due to personal and religious beliefs and also insurance qualifications. Some individuals, especially public figures often show up in the media about certain procedures that are no one's business and their privacy was violated because someone wanted a story and off to print it went, even though lawsuits can and have happened. …show more content…

But patient's privacy is critical in preventing identify theft, medical identity theft, fraud and abuse. Special circumstances could arise in which patient identification or access to individual patient records may require special precautions, such as a celebrity or a high profile individuals. In case such as these, only certain individuals should be able to access their healthcare information and at all costs, it must stay private.
Electronic systems are set up to identify and manage these types of data appropriately. Confidentiality is an individual's right to control his or her protected health

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