Data Privacy, Patient Confidentiality, and Public Trust - Essay Example

? DATA PRIVACY, PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY AND PUBLIC TRUST The privacy of patient records is a responsibility of every medical personnel. Many times however, the sovereignty of this privacy faces challenges hence breaching of the contract. As a result, patient information gets into unauthorized hands. This in turn causes patients to lose trust in the health system. Some go as far as not getting medical attention in the fear that their details leak to other people. This paper looks at authorized sources that study patient confidentiality, their findings and recommendations. Patient's Medical File’s Privacy Berle, I. (2011). Privacy and Confidentiality: What is the Difference??. Journal Of Visual Communication In Medicine, 34(1), 43-44. doi:10.3109/17453054.2011.550845 Privacy and confidentiality are paramount in ensuring a good doctor-patient relationship. Berle notes the distinction between the two in the medical context that governs that relationship. He clarifies two misconceptions between privacy and confidentiality and their considerations, under the Human Rights Act. This article, however, misses more precise ideas. The article requires empowerment by providing related and serious issues of privacy and confidentiality. However, I found this citation as a good source for my research. The difference between privacy and confidentiality, according to Belle, is to raise awareness and restate the concepts of responsible rules to protect patients and providers to the right processing. Other than doctor’s nurses too are responsible for ensuring patient confidentiality. Mcgowan, C. (2012). Patients' Confidentiality. Critical Care Nurse, 32(5), 61-65. doi:10.4037/ccn2012135 Nurses, under law, serve as key parties in ensuring that patient information remains confidential and only authorized personnel receive access to it. As a working nurse, Mcgowan bases the article on her practical experince in the hospital medical service at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts. She points out the main rules and polices that nurses follow during their duties to protect the privacy of the patients. She notes the conflict that arises when family members and friends request for patient information from the nurses. The article however concludes by clearing the air and giving a list of health care providers and other parties authorized to share the patient's information. Nevertheless, confidentiality has limits; and certain circumstances necessitate the breach of this confidentiality. Sankar, P., Mora, S., Jones, N. L.,& Merz, J. F., (2003), Patient Perspectives of Medical Perspectives, Journal of General Internal Medicine, 18(8), 659-669, Doi:10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003 Patient confidentiality is a vital aspect in medical healthcare. As a result, the perspective of patients in understanding this is necessary. This article explores the way patients view doctor-patient confidentiality. Findings show that many patients are unaware about the details concerning the nondisclosure laws of patient information by medical professionals. As a result, many patients overestimate or underestimate the ethical laws protecting them from unauthorized disclosure. There is a deep need for patients to learn about their ethical rights regarding confidentiality. In addition, the paper cites that public education ought to teach patients on the limitations of such laws and the circumstances under which this confidentiality agreement fails to hold. Reports on the paper also explain the effect of the patient’s perception on confidentiality on seeking medical help. Several patients report that fear of disclosure of their medical records leads to their lack of seeking medical attention. Confidentiality and Its Limits (2011) Hastings Center Report, 41(6), 12 To guarantee the welfare of a patient, medical personnel at times breach the confidentiality of patient data. The article elaborates circumstances that necessitate the breaching of the non-disclosure contract, and the impact such actions hold on public trust on health systems. The laws and codes of ethics of medical professionals provide that the professionals should respect the confidentiality and privacy of information of their patients; including respecting the autonomy of informed consent, unless there are compelling reasons for not doing so. The article also delves into the independence of the patient; which gives a patient the final say on whether or not they want to undertake certain medical procedures or undergo certain treatments. This perspective is very important for this study, because it serves to establish the relationship existing between a patient’s ability to make decisions and the medical professionals’ course of action. This relationship impacts on the public trust of the patients on the health system and the way it operates; since it serves to give them confidence that they are in charge of their wellbeing, through the provision of the autonomous right to determine the nature of health services that they should receive. Therefore, despite the duty of medical professionals to conceal information regarding a patient, the medical professionals are required to disclose such information to other colleagues and medical institutions; where the disclosure serves to prevent patients from the risk of receiving treatment and medical procedures that are adverse to their condition. To take such a step, conversance with ethics governing such disclosure is of great importance. Papadodima, S. A., Spiliopoulous, C. A., & Sakellidadis, E. I. (2008) Medical Confidentiality: Legal and Ethical Aspects in Greece, Bioethics, 22(7), 397-405 doi:10.1111/j.1467-8519.2008.00654.x Certain ethics govern the privacy agreement between a patient and the attending medical personnel. The authors introduce these ethics by using the legal and ethical aspects of the Greece model. Also they clarify that the patients' trust depends on the ability of the doctors to maintain the privacy. This article provides several examples regarding ethics and medical confidentiality. The first example is about the infectious patients confidentiality which is a serious threat to the public. The article also dwells on the actions to take when a doctor has serious suspicions of a patient regarding any criminal involvement. These examples enhance the understanding of ethics and medical confidentiality. Government Regulation and Patients Prospective Richards, M. M. (2009). Electronic Medical Records: Confidentiality Issues in the Time of HIPAA. Professional Psychology: Research & Practice, 40(6), 550-556. doi:10.1037/a0016853 Government laws regulate confidentiality. Richards explores this concept in regards to the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and strongly weighs the advantages the disadvantages of the EMR. She lists the EMR as an important tool that guarantees patient confidentiality as long as access is limited to authorized staff in the organization. The paper also introduces the concept of psychologists and patient confidentiality; citing the role a psychologist plays to ensure the information relayed by patients remains undisclosed to third parties. Moore, I. N., Snyder, S., Miller, C., An, A., Blackford, J. U., Chuan, Z., & Hickson, G. B. (2007). Confidentiality and Privacy in Health Care from the Patient’s Perspective: Does HIPAA Help? Health Matrix: Journal Of Law-Medicine, 17(2), 215-272 The article provides an overview of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the concept of the privacy regulations in the healthcare to sue under state law. It shows a conducted study by the Vanderbilt University Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy, which analyse several issues that include patients’ complaints in three different medical centers in the United States. The result shows that patients and their families exhibit great concern as patient confidentiality is compromised by several instances of physical intrusion. This article offers a valuable source for this essay. The authors’ opinion and analysis serve the purpose of imparting clarity and versatility to research the paper. The study concludes with several suggestions that help deal with the privacy and confidently issues. Wartenberg, D., & Thompson, W. (2010). Privacy Versus Public Health: The Impact of Current Confidentiality Rules. American Journal Of Public Health, 100(3), 407-412. Confidentiality laws cause various effects in the health system. Wattenberg & Thompson delve into the effects of the current confidentiality rules on the relationship between privacy and public health. The importance of this article to this study is that; it establishes the relationship between restricted access to patients’ confidential information and the public trust. The study specifically focuses on the limitations that such privacy and confidentiality rules have on the field of medical research; as they limit the accessibility of medical information regarding patients. These restrictions largely impact and creating impediments on the successful undertaking of effective public health research. This in turn affects public trust on the findings generated by these studies. When the accessibility of vital and credible information regarding a certain area of study faces restriction, there are higher chances that the researchers conduct their research based on non-tested and non-approved information, since they lack access to accredited medical information. This discredits the findings and any recommendations made on the basis of the unaccredited information, and thus erodes public trust in research undertaken in the field of public health. Sauka, M. M., & Lie, G. T. (2000) Confidentiality and Disclosure of HIV Infection: HIV-Positive Persons' Experience with HIV Testing and Coping with HIV Infection in Latvia, AIDS Care, 12(6), 737-743. Doi: 10.1080/09540120020014282 HIV/AIDS stigmatization still persists in some parts of the society. This article seeks to investigate the experiences of individuals living with HIV with testing, counseling and confidentiality of their health information data. Doctors realize that confidentiality of such information is vital to protect a patient from discrimination and stigmatization; hence ensure an individual’s perception by the public is not prejudiced. The article is very important for this study, since it investigates the relationship between the HIV management strategies and the public trust on the medical institutions and professionals, a fundamental aspect for this study. Therefore, the public trust on the HIV testing, counseling and confidentiality of health data is essential towards motivating the HIV-infected individuals to seek such services. There is a great worry amongst the HIV infected individuals that doctors breach confidentiality, and disseminate such information to the third parties, putting the infected individuals in a stigmatized position. Amongst the most complex issues in public health is the issue of HIV confidentiality, owing to the sensitivity of the matter, especially on the face of social perceptions and stereotypes. Therefore, building a good HIV management system that guarantees confidentiality is the only way of ensuring infected individuals seeks medical attention. Chan, T. K., (2013) Doctors Have a Duty to Breach Patient Confidentiality to Protect Others at Risk of HIV Infection, BMJ Media, BMJ2013:346:f1471 HIV infection poses a challenge to many societies. The sure way of eliminating this disease is preventing infection. To do this, infected persons need identification. Doctors therefore breach patient confidentiality in the event of preventing infections to a third party. This is challenging as it causes stigmatization to the infected person. In addition, patients lose trust in the medical system, citing it as untrustworthy. As a result, the article explores these factors and tries to establish a common ground where the doctor undertakes their responsibility with minimal negative effects on the patient. Chan primarily notes that the trust patients show to doctors is paramount in ensuring infected individuals seek medical care. Public Accountability and Insurance Companies Wiener, J. A., & Gilliland, A. T. (2011). Balancing between Two Goods: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Ethical Compliancy Considerations for Privacy-sensitive Materials in Health Sciences Archival and Historical Special Collections, Journal Of The Medical Library Association, 99(1), 15-22. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.99.1.005 In this article, the authors note the privacy and the ethical responsibilities of librarians when it comes to the provision of access to the historical collections and records of the patients. Requirements stipulate that this access guarantees the respectand dignity of those whose lives reflecte in the records. The most importantand basic idea in this article requires that the accountability of using patient records ought to regard the ethical and legal laws set. Thus, librarians who deal commonly with hospital administrators or researchersare responsible for guaranteeing the protection of patient data when they use their information.This source brings out the idea of privacy and ethics better than in other citation sources. This citation is a strong source that enhance ethical evidence to my research. Rynning, E. (2007). Public Trust and Privacy in Shared Electronic Health Records, European Journal of Health Law, 14(2), 105-112. Doi: 10.1163/092902707X211668 This article investigates in detail the relationship between the application of advanced technology in management of a patient’s record, and the aspect of public trust. Rynning seeks to investigate the benefits obtained from the advancement in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) application in the field of medical health. In addition, the article cites the possible negative effects ICT holds on the privacy of a patient’s medical information. He observes that the development and advancement in the information communication technology aims at improving patients’ safety and facilitating more efficient use of limited resources in the field of medical health. However, while the objectives of such developments are genuine and meant to benefit both the patient and the medical professionals, there are several negative implications of this development. The dissemination of patient information becomes easier, hence breaches occur often.. This in turn, affects the public’s trust on the development and the usage of the electronic Health Records (EHRs). Therefore, the application of the EHRs ought not compromise patient data privacy and confidentiality, or contribute to low public trust from the public. Hartlev, M. (2007) Striking the Right Balance: Patient's Rights and Opposing Interests with Regard to Health Information. European Journal of Health Law, 14(2), 165-176. Doi: 10.1163/092902707X199122 The relationship between patients and doctors hugely relies on the doctor’s ethical duty of confidentiality. While the traditional health system easily allowed for the maintenance of a patient’s confidentiality, the situation is different in the modern world. Technology heightens the possibility of a patient’s health records passing from one hand to the other, in the course of the patient’s treatment. Hartlev observes that currently, a patient is likely to seek medical help from more than one institution. This necessitates the sharing of his/her health information by the different medical professionals and institutions. The modern technology application of the concepts of e-health, which entails electronic patient files storage, provides an efficient way of exchanging a patient’s medical data. However, easier sharing of a patient’s sensitive information between health professionals and institutions jeopardizes the confidentiality relationship between the doctor and the patient. This article is significant for this study, since it delves into the subject of the breach of the confidentiality held by the doctors and the role technology plays in facilitating such breaches. Hartlev further details the other parties that require information on patients. These include not only medical professionals and institutions, but also health researchers, health administrators, the social welfare programs, insurance companies and employers. This raises the question on balancing the patients’ rights to medical data confidentiality and the interest of the other parties, in the same medical records. All these are important perspectives for this study. Mbanaso, U. M., Cooper, G. S., Chadwick, D., & Anderson, A. (2009) Obligations of Trust for Privacy and Confidentiality in Distributed Transactions, Internet Research, 19(2), 153-173 Doi:10.1108/10602240910952328 Mbanaso, Cooper, Chadwick & Anderson focus on the approaches to medical data authorization, privacy protection and the enforcement of medical information confidentiality. They introduce two major concepts into the issues of medical data confidentiality, namely the Obligation of Trust (OoT) and the Notification of Obligation (NoB).The two parties; medical professionals and patients, agree to share their confidential information amongst themselves, without disseminating the same to the third parties. This article becomes useful for this study, as it focuses much deeper on the options applied to ensure that a patient’s confidentiality and privacy remain intact. The authors of this article note that the current system of medical and health system is provider-centric. This means that the system engages the patient less in making decisions concerning confidentiality. This undermines the patients’ right to privacy and confidentiality. Introduction of the Obligation of Trust (OoT) and the Notification of Obligation (NoB) concepts prevents medical personnel from sharing a patient’s medical information without the patients consent. Croll, P. R. (2011). Determining the Privacy Policy Deficiencies of Health ICT Applications through Semi-formal Modeling, International Journal of Medical Informatics, 80(2), 32-38 Doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2010.10.006 The application of ICT in health management creates a major challenge in the management of patients’ confidential information. This is because ICT opens many avenues for sharing patients’ confidential health data, without their knowledge or consent. Therefore, Croll seeks to investigate the policies guiding the sharing of patients’ confidential information. He looks into issues involving conformity, while at the same time fulfilling the medical provider’s interests and meeting the patient’s expectations. The ability of the policy regulating the use of ICT in health sector to meet the expectations of the patients highly affects public trust on such ICT applications. This is due to the fact that their health records and information are confidential, and face disclosure only with their consent. Therefore, this article seeks to establish the necessity for the creation of more formal policies; to help address the deficiencies that exist in the policies guiding ICT use for health sector. This helps enforce strict policies on data confidentiality and enhances public trust. The findings of these sources show that indeed there are problems in the current management systems governing patient data confidentiality. As a result, public education needs to go towards enlightening the public on their confidentiality rights. In addition, the law limits the extent of confidentiality depending on the situation. Therefore, medical personnel reveal patient records when circumstances demand. Technology affects the privacy of patient information. Therefore, technology systems require special attention to ensure they do not compromise the security of the data held. References Berle, I. (2011). Privacy and Confidentiality: What is the Difference? Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, 34(1), 43-44 Mcgowan, C. (2012). Patients' Confidentiality, Critical Care Nurse, 32(5), 61-65 Sankar, P., Mora, S., Jones, N. L., & Merz, J. F., (2003), Patient Perspectives of Medical Perspectives, Journal of General Internal Medicine, 18(8), 659-669 Confidentiality and Its Limits (2011) Hastings Center Report, 41(6), 12 Papadodima, S. A., Spiliopoulous, C. A., & Sakellidadis, E. I. (2008) Medical Confidentiality: Legal and Ethical Aspects in Greece, Bioethics, 22(7), 397-405 Richards, M. M. (2009). Electronic Medical Records: Confidentiality Issues in the Time of HIPAA. Professional Psychology: Research & Practice, 40(6), 550-556. Moore, I. N., Snyder, S., Miller, C., Blackford, J. U., Chuan, Z., & Hickson, G. B., (2007), Confidentiality and Privacy in Health Care from the Patient’s Perspective: Does HIPAA Help, Health Matrix: Journal of Law-Medicine, 17(2), 215-272 Wartenberg, D., & Thompson, W. (2010). Privacy Versus Public Health: The Impact of Current Confidentiality Rules. American Journal Of Public Health, 100(3), 407-412. Sauka, M. M., & Lie, G. T. (2000) Confidentiality and Disclosure of HIV Infection: HIV- Positive Persons' Experience with HIV Testing and Coping with HIV Infection in Latvia, AIDS Care, 12(6), 737-743 Wiener, J. A., & Gilliland, A. T., (2011) Balancing between Two Goods: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Ethical Compliancy Considerations for Privacy- Sensitive Materials in Health Sciences Archival and Historical Special Collections, Journal of the Medical Library Association, 99(1), 15-22 Rynning, E. (2007). Public Trust and Privacy in Shared Electronic Health Records, European Journal of Health Law, 14(2), 105-112 Hartlev, M. (2007) Striking the Right Balance: Patient's Rights and Opposing Interests with Regard to Health Information, European Journal of Health Law, 14(2), 165-176 Mbanaso, U. M., Cooper, G. S., Chadwick, D., & Anderson, A. (2009) Obligations of Trust for Privacy and Confidentiality in Distributed Transactions, Internet Research, 19(2), 153- 173 Croll, P. R. (2011). Determining the Privacy Policy Deficiencies of Health ICT Applications Through Semi-formal Modeling, International Journal of Medical Informatics, 80(2), 32-38 Read More