Introduction
Healthcare facilities can use big data to transform the existing care delivery models. Modern technologies can improve the nature of organizational communication, decision-making, and problem-solving. The medical sector stands a chance to gain from these innovations by supporting the delivery personalized services, aiding in the prediction of possible epidemics, reducing costs, and preventing of diseases. Unfortunately, their continued use can result in ethical dilemmas due to the security and privacy concerns associated with modern innovations. This discussion describes this issue and applies various theories and codes to explain how health care professionals can address it.
Issue Summary
Big data and electronic health records (EHRs) are new developments that are redefining the process of care delivery. Physicians and medical institutions collect a wide range of patient data, including radiology images, texts from patients, caregivers’ details, and laboratory reports (Sulmasy et al., 2017). Technologists and stakeholders have found it extremely hard to maintain and manage this kind of information securely (Abouelmehdi et al., 2018). Hackers and phishers can use their skills to steal, alter, misuse, or share confidential data. The involvement of many professionals and stakeholders in handling and utilizing the collected information is a process that poses numerous challenges. Most of the privacy and state-of-the-art strategies put in place are still inadequate and incapable of meeting the demands of more patients.
Role of Healthcare Professionals
Medical practitioners are expected to follow outlined codes of conduct and ethical principles when relating with their respective patients. Professionals who breach the existing patient-provider confidentiality will result in the loss of personal data. This occurrence will be against the individuals’ consent. Any form of privacy loss would be inappropriate or unacceptable (Sulmasy et al., 2017). Healthcare professionals should, therefore, engage in evidence-based practices that can address this ethical dilemma and meet the demands of the targeted individuals.
Healthcare professionals would include all actors who work collaboratively to meet patients’ demands. These individuals will include technologists, Health Informaticists (HIs), record-keepers, caregivers, nurses, psychologists, and physicians (Abouelmehdi et al., 2018). These experts can begin by keeping the captured data secure and preventing unauthorized access. They should professionally use the data in accordance with the code of conduct. For instance, medical practitioners are required to maintain the highest level of confidentiality and avoid betraying the concept of informed consent. The professionals should also do what is acceptable and avoid sharing private information with patients’ relatives without their knowledge.
Those tasked with record keeping will need to keep the collected data electronically confidential and unavailable to other users. The professionals can keep their desks tidy while ensuring that the user secure passwords. The concept of teamwork is also critical to improving the level of collaboration and allowing workers to share information in a timely manner (Sulmasy et al., 2017). They will identify possible sources of attacks and consider new ways to prevent them. Patients can also be part of the process to maximize the level of data security.
Technicians and experts required to manage computer systems should install proper security mechanisms. Some of these measures include the provision of secure passwords and access points (Rashbaum, 2011). The use of anti-viruses, spam filters, and firewalls will prevent undocumented persons from accessing such networks. The professionals should also monitor such systems continuously to minimize possible attacks. The experts can also change passwords for network systems containing confidential information to make them inaccessible.
The established codes of conduct for physicians and nurses require that professionals consider the best ways to protect the confidentiality of the patient. For example, the American Medical Association Principles of Medical Ethics compels physicians to engage in and promote practices that have the potential to transform the experiences of their patients. Such initiatives include promoting the idea of privacy and focusing on individuals’ needs (Anthony & Stablein, 2016). Caregivers and clinicians need to follow these principles if they want to take the issue of confidentiality to the next level.
Similarly, various theories have emerged that are capable of taking the concept of privacy to the next level. For instance, the encryption model explains how and why stakeholders should ensure that the available data is kept securely and unavailable to third-party users. Deontological ethics could become a powerful theory for guiding people to act acceptably and pursue actions that could become universal laws (Rashbaum, 2011). The outstanding message is that practitioners who follow the framework will make acceptable decisions. A good example is protecting the privacy of the information obtained, transmitted, and shared using modern technologies and big data.
Conclusion
The above discussion has identified any form of privacy loss associated with the use of modern technologies as an ethical predicament. Medical practitioners need to follow the outlined theories and codes to protect their patients’ information by all means. In conclusion, such an approach will transform the healthcare sector and ensure that it meets the demands of all key stakeholders, including patients and their respective family members.
References
Abouelmehdi, K., Beni-Hessane, A., & Khaloufi, H. (2018). Big healthcare data: Preserving security and privacy. Journal of Big Data, 5, 1-18.
Anthony, D. L., & Stablein, T. (2016). Privacy in practice: Professional discourse about information control in health care. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 30(2), 207-226.
Rashbaum, K. N. (2011). EHR security: Confluence of law, patient protection, benefit to physicians. Medical Economics, 1, 77-79.
Sulmasy, L. S., López, A. M., & Horwitch, C. A. (2017). Ethical implications of the Electronic Health Record: In the service of the patient. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 32(8), 935-939.