Potential Implications of Breach of Confidentiality - Term Paper Example

? Potential Implications of Breach of Confidentiality Potential implications of breach of confidentiality to stakeholders There are alot of implications that result from breach of patients’ information on the part of the health care provider, the patient, as well as family members in general. This part of the paper describes these potential implications. According to Banker (2006), breach of medical information could have negative implications on the part of the health care provider or hospital in terms of finances. If found guilty of having made public private medical information, the hospital can be ordered by a court of law to pay hefty fines or even having its license revoked. The law and the doctor’s code of ethics as well lays out the right of patients’ to confidentiality of their medical information or records. Breach of this confidentiality is punishable by law. If a hospital is proved to have made public such private information or voluntarily enabled third parties to access such information, its image can be damaged completely. Since health care is a very sensitive issue to individuals seeking treatment and they require their information to be treated with utmost confidentiality, it is very difficult for them to seek treatment to an institution where they are not certain of confidentiality. Therefore, a health organization can lose mush of its clients. This is also accompanied by financial losses as people will seek medical care elsewhere. Health organizations that operate through financial support from donors and well-wishers can lose this support if proved to be negligent of the right of patients in terms of confidentiality of the medical records. On the other hand, breach of private medical information can also have adverse effects on the part of the patients. Some information is very sensitive and if it falls into the wrong hands, patients can be emotionally affected. For instance, disclosure of a patient’s HIV/AIDS status can lead to discrimination and stigmatization. There are a lot of negative effects that are associated with discrimination such as stress, or mental torture. Some people have even been reported to commit suicide as a result of discrimination and stigmatization. Disclosure of such information can also affect the social life of an individual as s/he may feel embarrassed if some private information falls way into the public. If private medical information of an individual falls into the hands of employers, some people may lose their job based on the severity of their medical problem. Some medical conditions have been proved to affect productivity of individuals in the workplaces as they may skip some days or take breaks from work to seek medical care. Therefore, an employer may terminate employment if such information falls into his/her hands. In addition, this may also directly affect other family members as they may also be discriminated against. For instance, a wife may be stigmatized or discriminated against if her husband’s HIV status is known by the public. In some parts of the world, certain medical conditions are regarded as a taboo and punishment from God hence may lead to discrimination (Cordess, 2001). In a nutshell, breach of patient’s medical records or information may have negative effects to the health care provider, patient, as well as other family members. References Banker, E. A. (2006). Institutional Review Board: Management and Function. New York, USA: Jones and Bartlett Learning. Cordess, C. (2001). Confidentiality and Mental Health. New York, USA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Assignment 2 Potential causes of breach of confidentiality and assessment Confidentiality of patients’ medical records has been a sensitive issue over the recent past. As evidenced in many sources, there have been a lot of cases involving patients complaining of breach of confidentiality in terms of their medical records. In fact, many health care providers have in the past been sued and found guilty. This paper describes the possible causes of breach of confidentiality and how to assessment breach of information. There are cases where family members of a patient may insist of accessing the medical records of the patient. If not careful, medical practitioners may find themselves disclosing private information of their clients to family members and friend. Children under the age of eighteen years are considered minors and hence have to be accompanied by the parents or guardians when seeking treatment. In other words, the parents are mandated by law to make medical decisions on behalf of their children. Children are also human beings and some medical conditions are embarrassing. All information regarding their health is therefore disclosed to the parents. Some medical conditions are very serious and the patient may not be in a position to make decisions regarding his or medical procedures on his or her own. In such a case, private information must be made available to one of his/her family members. In doing so, private information that could otherwise be treated with confidentiality is shred with a third party (Hagger, 2009). A medical practitioner cannot make any medical procedure without the consent of either the patient of a family member. According to Banker (2006), breach of confidentiality can also be caused by negligence on the part of medical practitioners. There are people who do not care about the feelings of others. If such kind of a person becomes a health care practitioner, there is a high possibility that s/he may make public some of his/her patients’ medical records. Patients’ information should also be kept in a secure room. When the information is electronic, information should be encrypted or files within the computer system protected by a password. Laxity on the part of medical practitioners whereby such private information is kept carelessly can lead to breach as others can access it. Confidentiality can also be breached when the hospital management is required to share a patient’s medical information through instructions from a court of law. Assessment of breach of confidentiality of patients’ medical records can be done through examining the ease in which third parties can access private information associated with patients. It can also be assessed through examining and analyzing the strategies established and implemented within an organization to breach of confidentiality. Patients’ private medical information is likely to fall into third parties where inappropriate plans of actions are implemented. The frequency of monitoring and techniques for monitoring is also an important consideration in assessing breach of confidentiality. Regular monitoring will help detect cases of breach of information and therefore design appropriate strategies to combat the problem. Systems without proper monitoring are at higher risks of breach of information (Banker, 2006). In a nutshell hospital management needs to implement effective strategies necessary to prevent and avoid breach of private information. References Banker, E. A. (2006). Institutional Review Board: Management and Function. New York, USA: Jones and Bartlett Learning. Hagger, L. (2009). The Child as Vulnerable Patient: Protection and Empowerment. Farnham, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Read More