Patient Confidentiality in the Pharmacy workplace - Research Paper Example

Patient confidentiality Elizabeth Kroupa Rasmussen College Medical Law & Ethics The issue of ethics cannot be overemphasized in any profession, be it medical, law, business, education or any other profession you can think of. The principle of confidentiality means keeping information given by or about a person in the course of professional relationship secure and secret from others. This confidentiality is seen as central to the maintenance of trust between a professional and a service user. The obligation to maintain confidentiality does not normally end with the individual’s death because the effects can still be detrimental to the family members. Confidentiality is equally due to both mature and immature minors, and adults who do not have the ability to make decisions by themselves. It applies to both professionals and students entering a given profession. It applies to all forms of transmission of that information. Patient confidentiality therefore represents personal or medical information given by an individual to a health care provider. Such information should not be disclosed unless the patient has given informed consent. Every individual has the right to their personal, identifiable medical information kept private. There are various laws within the nation that advocate for confidentiality of patients’ information. Such is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that contains sections that address privacy of patients’ information. The HIPPA privacy rule is used to regulate the use and disclosure of certain information held by covered entities. It establishes the guidelines for the use and release of Protected Health Information which is information held by an entity that can be linked to an individual. With these laws they ensure that medical information is always kept private (UCSF, 2008). The law also regulates the disclosure of patient information by other healthcare providers. There are many health care providers and all of them share medical information about patients. These include medical insurers; medical service providers and health are clearing houses among others. The privacy rule demands that the above mentioned entities notify individuals when their personal health information is used. It also requires these entities to take steps to ensure confidentiality of any communication made to individuals (UCSF, 2008). The aspect of confidentiality is very difficult to ensure in an age of electronic medical records and third party insurers. This is because information can be retrieved with ease; it can be converted and transmitted in different formats very easily. Medical information can also be intercepted in the process of transmission from one health provider to another. Therefore the HIPPA act came up with measures to ensure security of systems by emphasizing the need for administrative, physical and technical safeguards to deal with electronic medical records (Alanazi, et al., 2010). There are many professional implications involved in confidentiality. Confidentiality is essential for a good relationship between the patient and the practitioner. As explained above the disclosure of information by a patient is based on trust. For effective relationships to be built between the patient and the health practitioner it is important that they are assured of the confidentiality of their medical information. If the medical practitioner releases this information without consent of the patient, the patient loses trust in the practitioner. The patient will also be subjected to stressful conditions as a result of the disclosure and this may affect them in their relationships with others in the community around them (CPSO, 2010). The second professional implication is that personal information that is disseminated without patients permission can erode the patient’s confidence in the medical profession and expose health care professionals to legal actions. The very immediate implication is that patient will lose trust in both the medical profession and the doctor. What will follow next is a series of court cases where the medical practitioner may in the end lose their license. They may also be jailed by the state for failing to follow the laid down regulations. The result is that the medical practitioner will end up wasting the hard work and training that they undergo at the medical school (Cameron, 2006). Confidentiality is enforced in many ways. The first common method that has been used for a very long time is the “The Hippocratic Oath”. This is an oath that is taken by physicians and other healthcare professionals by swearing that they will practice medicine ethically. This oath is believed to have been propagated by Hippocrates who is regarded as the father of western medicine. The oath is considered as a rite of passage for healthcare professionals in many countries though the modern text varies among the different specialties in medicine (North, 2002). Secondly it is also ensured through various other mechanisms and these include the delivery of test results and patient histories. Medical employees are also not allowed to discuss patient’s information for example over lunch breaks, over the phone etc. doctors on the other hand cannot take calls from patients to discuss about their health issues in public places. All these are measures that ensure information about patient always remains within the consultation office and known to the doctor and other parties that have consent to know about it (CPSO, 2010). I have had a disturbing experience myself as a result of improper handling of my medical records. One time I was sick and had to undergo various tests in order to help in giving an accurate diagnosis of my sickness. The doctor after receiving the test results from the laboratory decided to communicate them through a friend of mine over the telephone. My friend could not keep the information private and began spreading gossip all over the place. This left me embarrassed and I felt violated In conclusion it is important to understand that first patient confidentiality is a right to all of us as individuals to protect us against our private medical information being told or used without our consent. The various mechanisms and laws provide for this so that patients can always be confident that their information will be used appropriately. Secondly confidentiality and privacy of medical records and information is a Patient’s Right Act passed by congress and therefore all medical practitioners must abide by its regulations so as to avoid problems with the state. References Alanazi, H. O., Jalab, H. A., Alm, G. M., Zaidan, B., & Zaidan, A. A. (2010). Securing electronic medical records transmissions over unsecured communications: An overview for better medical governance. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research , 4(19):2059-2074. Cameron, S. (2006). Privacy, Confidentiality and other Legal Responsiblities. Retrieved November 27, 2011, from Australasian Society for HIV Medicine: http://www.ashm.org.au/images/publications/monographs/b%20positive/b_positive-chapter_12.pdf CPSO. (2010, November). Confidentiality of Personal Health Information. Retrieved November 28, 2011, from College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario: http://www.cpso.on.ca/uploadedFiles/policies/policies/policyitems/Confidentiality.pdf North, M. (2002). The Hippocratic Oath. Retrieved November 28, 2011, from National Library of Medicine: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/greek/greek_oath.html UCSF. (2008). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability . Retrieved November 28, 2011, from University of Carlifornia Sanfrancisco: http://hipaa.ucsf.edu/education/downloads/PublicRelationsModule.pdf Read More