SLP 5 - Healthcare Legal and Ethical Problems and Remedial Action Plans - Research Paper Example

Failure to follow ethics may not warrant punishment, but it begs for social ridicule as well as isolation (Miller, 2008). This paper therefore, seeks to provide remedial action plans, meant to cope with the weaknesses in the legal and ethics section of the California Hospital Medical Center. Despite there being strengths in the legal and ethical section, like the hospital having co-operative staff particularly nurses and provision of services to the handicapped, there are several weaknesses. The first weakness is that the hospital faces confidentiality problems especially because it has partnerships with different organizations like the mental hospital.

Conversely, this leads to heightened chances of sharing confidential information with many parties. Lacking of confidentiality measures that are apposite gives room for parties that have not been permitted to access private patient information (Miller, 2008). This is dangerous as such information could be used against the patient. The second weakness includes, the California Hospital Medical Care hospital not having closely monitor volunteers. Consequently, this leads to undisciplined behavior among the volunteers with an example of bleaching hospital ethics.

This also can be dangerous as it tarnishes the good reputation of the hospital giving it a bad name (Ashcroft et al, 2007). Both of these weaknesses needs to be addressed so that the good reputation of the hospital may be kept and also prevent the hospital from being sued due to confidentiality breach. Physicians are supposed to safeguards their patients privacy and confidence which is within the law constraints. Confidentiality is defined as the physician’s ethical duty of not disclosing patient’s information without any authorization.

The confidentiality is an ethical duty which is universal. There are certain circumstances under which confidential information can be disseminated and this is an issue that many physicians as well as hospital administrators face from time to time (Boyd, 2007). Reason being, release of information that is confidential is surrounded by both ethical and legal questions. Conversely, confidential information should be handled with great professional level and quality. This is where the California Hospital Medical Care is having a weakness in.

One practical action plan in relation to the confidentiality issue being faced by the hospital is the coming up with patient education forums meant to facilitate transfer consent of information for care purposes. These forums will enable patients will give patients the right to choose having their information transferred for security reasons (Boyd, 2007). It will prevent individuals who are not authorized from looking into private patient information. In addition, the hospital should start up internal facilities meant to develop the confidence of the patient that their information is stored safely (Ashcroft et al, 2007).