Evaluations and Ethics
In the current paper, potential concerns which could arise during an evaluation in a medical institution will be analyzed. Moreover, the strategies for addressing those issues will be considered and discussed. For the present piece, the privacy and confidentiality area was selected, and potential ethical problems which a nurse informaticist might encounter will be demonstrated and summarized below. The particular ethical issue was chosen, as it is one of the most complex problems, which health institutions face today. Additionally, the possible ways to address ethical concerns will be presented.
With the growing adoption of new information technologies in health care institutions, new issues and concerns are arising for the clinician-patient relationship. The widespread technologies in healthcare pose privacy and confidentiality challenges, which should be taken carefully to ensure private data (Goodman, 2010). By confidentiality in healthcare institutions, “the obligation of professionals who have access to patient records or communication to hold that information in confidence” is implied (Prater, 2014, para. 3). In order to ensure the confidentiality of patients’ private data, health records, in this case, medical institutions should provide professional education on a regular basis, as new technologies continue to develop quickly (Goodman, 2010). This education should include the technical side, which would teach clinicians to interact with equipment, as well as the ethical part explaining possible consequences of information disclosure. Concerning privacy, it is the right of a patient to decide how their personal information is shared (Prater, 2014). This right, as the right for confidentiality, is protected under the Federal Law. For privacy, heads of health care institutions should hold regular personnel training in order to avoid violations of these rules.
In conclusion, it should be stated that privacy and confidentiality are potential ethical problems, which healthcare institutions face daily. The possible ways to solve the issues include regular personnel training on new technologies, as well as the ethical part and the consequences of the information disclosure. Important to mention that it is a legal duty of health care professionals to ensure privacy and confidentiality for all patients.
References
Goodman, K. W. (2010). Ethics, information technology, and public health: New challenges for the clinician-patient relationship. J Law Med Ethics, 38(1), 58-63. Web.
Prater, V. S. (2014). Confidentiality, privacy and security of health information: Balancing interests. UIC. Web.