The Ethics of Online Medical Records
Abstract: This paper describes the ethical implications of developing a national online medical database. Such a database would contain the lifetime health records of every U.S. resident by combining information from a variety of sources. The advantages of such a system are many, but in the end, the question remains whether patients want to trade privacy for better healthcare.
A lonely ninety-year-old Chinese woman walks into a clinic. Without any medical records, the physicians diagnose her with stroke, and she is immediately hospitalized. Two days later, her son arrives at the hospital, apparently quite angry with the doctors. He informs the physicians that her mother has been in this condition for many years, and should not be treated for stroke. Unfortunately, the treatment has already started, and the son is billed $12,000 for two days of hospitalization. This unfortunate incident was witnessed by Jennifer Danek, M.D. in a San Francisco hospital. She concludes, "Had we gotten the correct history, we could have saved this woman a lot of unnecessary testing and not cost her son his whole life savings" [3].
How ironic that in today's so-called Information Age, physicians have a shortage of accessible information on their own patients! This lack of information on patients has not only handicapped physicians, but also jeopardized the lives of their patients. In an attempt to fix this problem, some physicians have proposed the creation of a national database that contains the medical records of every American resident [4]. While the benefits of this system are many, opponents argue that patients' privacy may be compromised. Worse, confidential pati...
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...logy Revolution Brings New Ethical and Legal Risks." Psychiatric News (2000): 26 pars. 26 Jan. 2001. <http://www.psych.org/pnews/00-05-05/tech.html>.
2. Chapman, Audrey. Healthcare and Information Ethics. Kansas City: Sheed and Ward, 1997.
3. Danek, Jennifer, M.D., The Med School Survival Guide. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2000.
4. Davis, Michael. Computerizing Healthcare Information. Chicago: Probus Publishing Company, 1994.
5. Orentlicher, David and Barr, Bob. "Is a 'unique health identifier' for every American a good idea?"42 pars. 26 Jan 2001. <http:// www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1571/n31_v1 4/21064144/ print.jhtml>.
6. Orentlicher, David. and Healy, Bernadine. "Point/Counterpoint: Should Americans' medical records include unique identifiers?" Physician's Weekly, Nov. 1998 Vol. XV: 43.
A basic definition of confidentiality is that information about a patient is not discussed openly (Edge and Groves, 2007). This ethical principle became an issue when the government gave medical facilities lists of people who were in the study. Again, the patients were not informed that they would not be able to
...). Privacy and Health Information Technology. Journal of Law Medicine, 37(2), 121-149. Retrieved January 28, 2011 from CINAHL database
2. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages to having a standardized terminology within electronic health record
Friedman, D. J., Parrish, G., & Ross, D. A. (2013). Electronic Health Records and US Public Health: Current Realities and Future Promise. American Journal of Public Health, 103(9), 1560-1567
The First trait that the Dalai Lama has that is much like the Popes is his popularity Buddhism is one of the most popular religions in the world. “The number of Buddhists in the world is estimated at around 350 million (6% of the world's population). This makes Buddhism the world's fourth largest (in terms of number of adherents) religion.” (Arthur)This quote shows the Buddhist religion is growing and how the Dalai Lama is teaching all of these people the peaceful Buddhist
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.
In 1937, Tenzin Gyatso was chosen as the 14th Dalai Lama at the tender age of two years old. The Dalai Lama is considered to be the transcendent and sequential head of Tibet. He was able to assume his position a few years later, but had to flee his home in 1959 due to the Chinese occupation of Tibet. The Dalai Lama has worked incessantly to encourage the peaceful liberation of Tibet ever since that particular time period. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as he is entitled, has taken this specific time of his banishment to tour the world discovering what is out there and presenting Buddhism to the rest of the world as he takes in other experiences. Although quite rare, he does provide interviews where he not only converses about Buddhism, but also cautiously speaking the advantages of religious diversity in the world.
6. Should individuals and organizations with access to the databases be identified to the patient
Doctors, hospitals and other care providers dispute that they should have access to the medical records and other health information of any patient citing that they need this information to provide the best possible treatment for proper planning. Insurers on the other hand claim they must have personal health information in order to properly process claims and pay for the care. They also insist that this will provide protection against fraud. Government authorities make the same arguments saying that in providing taxpayer-funded coverage to its citizens, it has the right to know what it is paying for and to protect against fraud and abuse. Researchers both medical and none nonmedical have the same argument saying that they need access to these information so as to improve the quality of care, conduct studies that will make healthcare more effective and produce new products and therapies (Easthope 2005).
Telemedicine is a new comer to the field of medicine and it is the treatment of patients by means of telecommunications technology. Telemedicine is carried out in a variety of ways whether it is by smart phone, wireless tools or other forms of telecommunications. Examples of telemedicine include: 1) transmission of medical images 2) care services at the home of the patient 3) Diagnosis at distance 4) education and training of patients. The diversity of practices in what is known as telemedicine raises many questions and one of those questions, which is extremely important, relate to the safety of the practice and the risks involved.
The guidance explains and clarifies key provisions of the medical privacy regulation, which was published last December (HIPAA, 1996). Guaranteeing the accuracy, security, and protection of the privacy of all medical information is crucial and an ongoing challenge for many organizations. References American Medical Association (2005). Retrieved December 7, 2008, from http://www.ad http://www.ama-assn.org/.
The cause of Clinical depression has long been a mystery to physicians and researchers. Many different theories have been proposed, but no conclusive evidence has been put forth. However, most of what we know about depression stems from the results of certain drugs which have been successful in treating the clinically depressed. These anti--depressants have led to the assumption that depression is most likely due to a chemical imbalance (of neurotransmitters) which somehow leads to the symptoms of depression. To try and write a paper on all the theories of depression would be endless, as would be a study on all the different types of anti-depressants. Therefore I have tried to focus my paper on the serotonin hypothesis for depression, and more specifically how the serotonergic anti-depressants have backed up this theory. Of course, Any paper on serotonin-based anti-depressants must include the popular Prozac. Because of the excitement And controversy surrounding Prozac, I decided to channel most of my paper into the action of this so-called "wonder drug".
Specific Purpose: To inform the class about how a cup of coffee affects the brain.
...dilemma for young doctors." Medical Education 44.8 (2010): 805-813. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
“Website.” 2002 Prentice Hall | a division of Pearson Education, plc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 29 Nov. 2013.Web. 29 Nov. 2013. http://www.prenhall.com/success/MajorExp/MEDmajors.html