Ethical Behaviors In Regard To Health Information, Technology, And Social Media
Scenario 1: social media posting
Every time a patient visits any medical facility, they always expect quality care and confidentiality. With increased and advanced technology, many people are capable of accessing patient’s information, making it difficult for healthcare workers to fully secure patients’ confidentiality. in the first place, healthcare personnel is supposed to ensure that the information that they share on their social media platforms no sensitive information is shared through these platforms because they are not secure. The information provided should not jeopardize the security and privacy of the patients. a nurse must first consider whether the information provided can lead to the patient’s identity being revealed and what the consequences are.
This nurse has gone against the HIPAA rule. According to HIPAA, the patient’s demographic such as their past, present, or future, and health care they have received, should be protected (Cannon, & Caldwell, 2016). In this case, the nurse has revealed the patient data such as their weight and diagnosis, which can lead to the identification of the patient.
Today, It is easier to access patient’s information due to the high technological advancement. Therefore, the healthcare providers are supposed to be very careful with the kind of information shared on the online platforms because once it is shared, they may have little or no control of who will access the information provided. this worker does not show any professionalism that is required by a health worker. Spreading the patient’s information on online platforms is illegal, and it is a violation of patient’s rights. Every time a patient visits any medical facility, they always expect quality care and confidentiality
Scenario 2: presentation poster
Privacy is the patient’s right to personal information protection. Confidentiality is very critical in ensuring that the third party does not access the patient’s information. All healthcare professionals are bound by these rules that prohibit them from discussing a patient’s medical information with anybody else without consent. The patient’s information should also be stored in a way that guarantees the patient’s privacy. In this case, the nurse should use the pictures but de-identify all the data that can lead to the patient being identified by the third party.
De-identification is removing identifiers from the health information that can help identify the patient, thus mitigating risks. De-identification also helps the healthcare workers to use the patient to support research without going against the set rules and regulations (Sokol, 2017). The HIPAA rules are critical in that it provides directions regarding re-identifying the PHI using a unique code. This code is very important and thus is not to be disclosed. In this case, the patient can use the client’s lesion for education purposes but ensure that there is no data that can lead to the identification of the patient by the third party. HIPAA provisions allow using information that does not identify the patient
Scenario 3: long term care
There are various privacy and security issues that are related to a patient sharing their information with a long-term care facility. One of the major issues is the patient controlling the information that they provide to the healthcare workers. Therefore, there is a great concern regarding who should be controlling the access and the sharing of information in the long-term care facility. The patient information is critical, and the control issue should be appreciated with the owner’s approval. The patients are therefore supposed to control the information that they provide. In this case, Marcus is not sure who he should provide his information with. The patient may therefore hide some of the information because he is not sure who he should be providing the information with and the security of the provided information.
There is also the other issue of trust between the patient and the healthcare provider. In order to have a successful healthcare system, trust between the patient and the healthcare providers is paramount. The absence of trust may make the patient fail to disclose the necessary information required to help better the patient’s outcome. Failure to disclose some information may lead to adverse effects.
There is also the likelihood of gaps in the legislative aspects of the privacy and security-related institutions that help safeguard the patient’s information. These gaps arise because of a lack of proper policies and lack of knowledge. This may lead to unauthorized persons accessing the patients’ information.
References
Cannon, A. A., & Caldwell, H. (2016). HIPAA violations among nursing students: teachable moment or terminal mistake—a case study. J Nurs Educ Pract, 6(12), 41-48. Retrieved from; https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hollie_Caldwell/publication/305479324_HIPAA_violations_among_nursing_students_Teachable_moment_or_terminal_mistake-A_case_study/links/579787a108aec89db7b9a86b.pdf (Links to an external site.)
Sokol, A. J. (2017). Clinical Research and Data: HIPAA, the Common Rule, the General Data Protection Regulation, and Data Repositories. Merrill Series on The Research Mission of Public Universities, 47-62. Retrieved from: https://journals.ku.edu/merrill/article/view/7750/7359 (Links to an external site.)
