Patient Confidentiality Essay

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.

Roles and responsibility of the work are adhered to. Personal information about patient are kept confidential except where it is necessary with other staff that care for the same patient or to the health care team attending to them.

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.

The patient described in this paper will be referred to as Jonathan Toews to ensure patients confidentiality. Jonathan Toews, is a sixty three year old man, born on August 23rd 1956, and lives with his eldest son. He was married two times and has three children, two children from his first marriage and one from his second. He lives in northern Ontario but originally was not born here, he moved here shortly following his second divorce. He is of Italian decent and is a practicing catholic. The patient weights 95kgs, is 178cm tall and has a body mas index (BMI) of 28.3. He said he used to play soccer when he was younger but since does not keep active or get the recommended amount of daily activity. Jonathan says he smokes around one pack or cigarettes a day and has a alcoholic drink roughly three to four drinks per week, he also describes that he eats fast food a few times a week. The patient now has congestive heart failure as a consequence of his MI. He was transferred from another hospital at the beginning of November and currently is waiting for more testing before he can be discharged from the hospital or moved to another facility. The patient has some known comorbidities that can exacerbate his CHF, this includes smoking, obesity, and noncompliance with medications.

As medical Assistant in a medical office, I need to know that healthcare facilities, patient record should be keep private. I should be careful that my patients’ rights are respected and laws are strictly followed.

It relates to the aspects and information about their lives that the patient can control and the nurse is in charge of helping them control it. “Honoring a patient’s privacy can be as simple as only asking questions that are clinically relevant, but can also extend to constructing policies that maintain privacy, such as hospital environment policies” (ANA, 2008, p.26). If a nurse finds out that a patient is a victim of domestic violence but does not wish for the nurse to say anything the nurse can investigate as much as the patient permits it, if there are more people involved like children, if is something that has happened a few times or if is a regular thing. The nurse should give the patient options to deal with it like counseling and orient

Most hospitals have an internal system of reporting where employees can alert upper management of problems that arise. This type of reporting is problem solving based and not blame based. A report on the ethical problems on this patient should be generated to protect future patients and improve the care this hospital offers.

Nurse are subject to various ethical and legal responsibilities in their professional role, such as to maintain patient’s privacy and confidentiality. Beginning in1893, nurses are taking the Nightingale Pledge to use all their power to maintain and elevate the standard of nursing profession and hold confidentiality in all personal matters committed to their keeping and all family affairs coming to their knowledge in the practice. That duty still continues today to protect the patient’s confidentiality. In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was first enacted by Congress to improve continuity of health insurance coverage, combat health care waste and fraud, and simplify the administration of health insurance.

Mandated reporter training is essential for any trained professional working in the health or mental health field. Confidentiality in these fields is essential for “clients to risk disclosing private aspects of their lives that, if revealed could cause shame of damage to their reputations.” (74). When clients have assurance that a professional will not be sharing sensitive information, they are more likely to share problems involving “infidelity, deviant practices, illicit activities and traumatic experiences.” (74).

I agree with you Cira, although I would add that the Labor Laws, the Code of Ethics and Medical Deontology and the Deontological Code of Nursing. All these regulations currently in force regulate and protect confidentiality. It is respect for privacy, the right to the elements that constitute it is not a public object of general information, recognized in all constitutions and legal frameworks. It responds to the general objective of improving the quality of people who request our care and assistance. The right to the intimacy of the sick generates in professionals the duty of confidentiality the obligation not to tell anyone what they know of their patients, except to the other professionals involved in their attendance.

These include less meaningful patient interaction due to computer use in the room and possible data breach. Ensuring privacy and security of patient information is crucial in building trust. However, due to the ease of access to sensitive information, there is a risk of privacy violation. This violation may be intentional or accidental which may affect patients feeling insecure about disclosing important health information. Having a computer in each room may be valuable in situations but it may also create a barrier in nurse-patient relationship. Patient care may be hindered because nurses are constantly documenting and referring to the computers seemingly

Every professional nurse makes a commitment to society to follow an ethical-based approach that provides key principles to follow such as autonomy, veracity, beneficence, justice, confidentiality, and fidelity. Nurses must demonstrate a manner that’s truthful, respects the rights and privacy of patients, does not cause any harm, and treats others equally. Although this may sound simple, nurses may face ethical conflicts with the unsafe practice of healthcare colleagues.

Confidentiality in Nursing Keeping the confidentiality of a patient’s healthcare information is an important piece of professional practice for all registered nurses in the US. Although all nurses know the importance of confidentiality and patient’s privacy. It is very easy for a nurse to breach confidentiality today with advanced technology and social media. What is confidentiality, and why is it important in the nursing profession?

The issue of HIV status and reporting procedures raises several legal questions that relate to patient confidentiality and privacy concerns. Code of ethics and integrity are an element of the nursing underpinning; thoughtfulness, compassionate and advocacy are some fundamental qualities every nurse conjures daily as a vocation and individual clinical practice. Amongst other profession, it is imperative that nurses function with moral standards, a proficient parameter of the law (American Nurses Association, 2010a). It is important to remember that legal protection of patient confidentiality depends on whether or not health concerns for the general public supersede the interest of preserving the patient and provider privilege. The balancing of these two fundamental interests is a grave challenge when it comes to privacy concerns with HIV status.

Nurses have a duty to protect the rights of their patients including the rights of confidentially and privacy. Privacy is being secluded from the presence of others.