Ethical Decisions in Times of Disaster: KatrinaHealth - Research Paper Example

Provision of the information from KatrinaHealth.org ensured that evacuees are able to continue with their medications and avert cases of wrong prescriptions or coordinate the provision of health care. KatrinaHealth was supported by the state and federal government, a national foundation, private firms, and individual health professionals (Markel Foundation, 2006).  In this case, ethical, legal and policy issues faced by individuals in the case will be discussed. In addition, actions that may be taken to ensure that the KatrinaHealth program is rolled out nationally will be discussed.

There are various ethical and legal issues touching individuals involved in the KatrinaHealth. One of these is the issue of informed consent. The professional code of ethics requires that patients should make an informed decision when receiving health care based on clear information about the costs of treatment, the risks involved, and alternative treatment. However, in the case of KatrinaHealth patients receive care from another individual without either accessing information on costs of the health care or whether their insurers can make payments on their behalf. According to Grimaldi (2007), although it is ethical to charge fees in the provision of online therapy, insurance companies may be hesitant to compensate for such services.

The other ethical and legal issue facing individuals in KatrinaHealth is the issue of privacy and confidentiality of the patient’s information (Markel Foundation, 2006). It is an ethical obligation for all health professionals to ensure that the patients’ confidentiality and privacy are maintained. However, the implementation of KatrinaHealth requires that health professionals access the information of the patients (Grimaldi, 2007). This may compromise the patient’s privacy and confidentiality right. The third legal issue that is faced by individuals in the case of KatrinaHealth is that of data integrity. Issues of data integrity address the concern on whether the information stored in the portal is authentic and is available for use during disasters. Date integrity issues result from concerns on whether the information stored in the database is free from errors (Markel Foundation, 2006).   

            The policy issues in the case of the KatrinaHealth program should first address the issues of access to information stored in the portal. There must be a clearly defined policy on how caregivers can access information maintained in the portal and such information should only be used for specific uses (Markel Foundation, 2006). Moreover, it is important to ensure that all health professionals are trained on the use of information systems to ensure that they maintain the privacy and confidentiality of patient information. In the use of such a program, it is critical to ensure that caregivers are competent in the use of technology to key inpatient information and retrieval. In addition, there must be policies addressing the integrity of data.  

            To ensure that the KatrinaHealth program is rolled out nationally, there should be awareness creation among all health facilities and providers on the importance of such a program (Powell-Young, Baker, and Hogan, 2006). This will ensure that patient information is stored in a database from which it can be accessed in case of an emergency. This is supported by the availability of the required technology to store this information.

The other action that should be taken to ensure that KatrinaHealth is adopted nationally is to develop a health information system that is able to link records. The health system must also be interoperable, resilient, and simple (Powell-Young, Baker, and Hogan, 2006). Policies should then be developed to ensure that health caregivers store correct information and are controlled in the access of the system. This will enhance data privacy for patients and give them confidence in the use of such a program (Powell-Young, Baker, and Hogan, 2006).

It is also important to bring on board other stakeholders in health care such as insurances to ensure that they ensure customers who receive care under the program. This is because the patients may be hesitant to be engaged in the program given the costs and resistance of insurance companies to meet the medical costs (Markel Foundation, 2006).

One of the problems faced in the implementation of KatrinaHealth is technical issues. For the program to be effective there is a need to ensure the implementation of a health information system that allows for record sharing (Markel Foundation, 2006). Moreover, the program faces challenges of developing arrangements with all health facilities and individuals and standards to be followed during an emergency. The other hurdle faced in the implementation of the program is to ensure that all the policies developed adhere.

To address these hurdles, firstly it is important to start planning for such a program early. This will give a chance to clarify all issues and to bring onboard a large number of participants (Powell-Young, Baker and Hogan, 2006). The program should also engage all stakeholders in developing a robust system by relying on available technologies. It is also critical to develop clear communication strategies, as this will help enhance collaboration among all caregivers.