Preview

Administrative Ethics - Paper 3

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
895 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Administrative Ethics - Paper 3
Administrative Ethics Paper

HCS/335

December 19, 2011

Administrative Ethics Paper
There are many factors that are affecting our everyday lives but none as important as the ethics of healthcare. Healthcare is one of the largest personal care services provided in our civilization today. In order to provide this type of care adequate and qualified personnel must have access to personal information both medical and at times non-medical. Preserving patient confidentiality has become more increasingly difficult to do. The desire to guard patient privacy is apparent with all the legal ramifications imposed by the federal and state laws. I will be discussing the ethical and legal issues of healthcare while stating the responsibilities and facts that could lead to solutions.
According to "American Medical Association" (1995-2011), “The U.S. Constitution defines a physician’s legal obligation to their patient(s) by federal and state law, regulation, and by the court although access to patient information has become more accessible”(Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs). In 1996 Congress enacted the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and was recently amended under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ( "AmericanCollege of Healthcare Executives", 2009). HIPAA was to put safety measures to shield a patient(s) health information and keep it private. In February of 2009 on the 17th, President Barak Obama authorized the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 with the objective to support the acceptance of electronic medical records (EMR) by physicians and medical facilities. The law symbolizes a reassurance to privacy by giving them actionable remedies in an event that their personal private medical records are misused or abused ("ResourceLibrary: The CBS Interactive Business Network", 2002). The lack of safeguards for patients and



References: AmericanCollege of Healthcare Executives. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.ache.org/policy/hiconf.cfm American Medical Association. (1995-2011). Retrieved from http://www.ama- assn.org/ama/pub/about-ama/our-people/ama-councils/council-ethical-judicial affairs.page ResourceLibrary: The CBS Interactive Business Network. (2002). Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2689_131/ai_92691019/?tag=content;col1

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The health care administrator has responsibilities that extends beyond patient medical information to broader information systems that encompass the organization as a business and a workplace. Managing confidential information within the health care system requires ethical awareness, knowledge, and decision-making skill. With the growth of information systems one ethical concern that continually presents itself to the administrator is confidentiality of information (Badzek, 1998) regardless if that information is about a patient or an employee.…

    • 1426 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Confidentiality and privacy are words used interchangeably in the medical world when they have very different meanings. Confidentiality is in line with protection of patient information from unauthorized users and privacy is in line with protection of the patient’s physical body from unauthorized users. In the emergency department (ED) this is a lofty and constant task that requires vigilance from staff, in all departments, involved with the patient. This student will report on the issues with confidentiality in the ED.…

    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Though patients have the responsibility to provide their health care providers with the information necessary for their care, they have the right to confidentiality of any of such information from demographic data to sensitive personal information. Mehnke (2010) explains that there is the need to review policies on privacy and confidentiality to achieve optimal results. He further explains that, the day to day life of health workers from the common copy machine, to trash, to hallway conversation, discussion in elevators and cafeteria poses challenges to patient confidentiality. Also the pressure from friends and close family members of patients to know the progress of their loved ones which may or may not include disclosure of patient information is a major hurdle. Regardless of the challenges all what the patient expects from healthcare providers is for their right to privacy and confidentiality to be respected. This helps patient to seek help when needed and to freely discuss their problems with their care givers. It is the client’s expectation that that bond is never broken without their consent unless required by…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the United States, privacy and confidentiality are the basic rights of the society enshrined not only in professional practice codes of ethics but also in the constitution. Hence, nurses and for that matter, all health care professional have a legal, moral and ethical responsibility to protect patient's privacy.…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Every health care professional faces ethical dilemmas from time to time. There are fundamental principles of ethics when we talk about ethical issues in health care: confidentiality that you need to respect for individual privacy.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Protecting the privacy of patient information is one of the top priorities of all healthcare providers and is specifically required by various state and federal laws. On February 17, 2009 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, sometimes referred to as “the stimulus”) included provisions making significant improvement in the privacy and security standards for health information was signed into law by the federal government (http://www.hpsafind.hrsa.gov). Included in this law is $19.2 Billion which is intended to be used to increase the use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) by physicians and hospitals; this portion of the bill is called, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH Act (http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1/show). The Act is directed towards protected health information that is not secured by a technology standard that renders protected health information unusable, unreadable or indecipherable to unauthorized individuals. Additionally, it addresses entities subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) that access, maintain, retain, modify, record, store, destroy, or otherwise hold, use, or disclose unsecured protected health information. The HITECH Act require patients be notified of any unauthorized acquisition, access, use or disclosure of their unsecured protected health information.…

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Patient privacy has been a major issue within the healthcare field for many years. With the increasing use of medical information technology more and more people are being authorized to view patient health information. Not only do physicians and nurses have access; but this has broadened to include allied health professionals, billing specialists, quality assurance employees, social workers, medical records technicians etc... (Pendrak & Ericon, 1998). All of these healthcare professionals have a duty to take any steps necessary to protect the patient 's right to privacy when it comes to their health information.…

    • 1410 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    A patient’s right to privacy is one of the most important and protected elements of healthcare today. Patient health information is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and even more so by the HIPAA Privacy Rule. “The HIPAA Privacy Rule is a key federal law governing the privacy and confidentiality of patient information.” (Brodnik, Rinehart-Thompson, Reynolds. 2012 pg. 215.) The law governing patient privacy has two goals, “to provide an individual with greater rights with respect to his or her health information” and “to provide greater privacy protections for one’s health information, which serves to limit access by others.” (Brodnik, Rinehart-Thompson, Reynolds. 2012 pg. 215)…

    • 1103 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Electronic mobile devices have come to the forefront in many areas of our lives. IPhones, iPads, and Android cell phones keep us in contact with family, friends, and even our physicians. Now it is a common fact that these devices while secure in some ways, these mobile instruments are susceptible to loss or pilfering. In the medical profession, there is an increasing trend to use personal devices instead of the ones provided through the workplace. Medical professionals must take active steps for protect a patient’s ePHIs, or be found in violation of HIPAA rules and regulations.…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Creating a professional career action plan will compose attainable goals and design a step-by-step plan to achieve important professional goals. It is important to have a roadmap that will guide anyone from beginning to end for successful goal attainment. My action plan summarizes my professional goals and my career goal of becoming a health care administrator in a hospital or a physician’s office. I will assess the skills currently obtained and the skills that need altering to improve my chances of reaching my career goals. My action plan will also show the steps required to reach my career goals and a timeline to complete each one. Achieving my goals will require focus and motivation to follow the professional plan to the final attainment of my career goals (University of Phoenix, n.d).…

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The awareness or degree of the security and privacy for patient’s health information varies from how to use or share health information, parameters, job position influences, the leadership interpretation, and implementing costs. The professionalism of the HIPPA security and privacy requires the formal education and proper training to ensure that the person entering this type of workforce can have ongoing accountability for the security and privacy to protect health information. The standards for HIPPA’s security and privacy rules address specific training requirements so professionalism responsibility is an absolute after receiving proper training. The requirements for the high-level training are crucial because of the cost and ongoing requirements and responsibilities of the workers. The professional responsibilities of the job demands ongoing training in which the workers are constantly up-to-date with documentations and responsibilities required by each…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Healthcare Law and Ethics

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages

    My paper is on patient dumping which happens when a medical treatment facility may treat a patient initally for acute symptoms but then realizes the patient has no means to pay for the medical services rendered. In some cases back in the 1990 's it was found that a patient was put into a cab and the cab driver paid to take the patient away and let out on a street corner somewhere in a city in the USA. Some stories have been told that patients only had on a hospital gown and diaper and dumped on the curb. Usually these patients are older population, may have dementia or are chronic alcoholics and are too sick to care for themselves. Of course this practice is illegal after Congress passed the “Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), sometimes referred to as COBRA since it was part of the year’s Consolidated Omnibus Budget”. (http://www.nurseweek.com, Karen Markus, JD, RN, p 1.)…

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In to world of healthcare, one thing has become very clear when talking about what is ethical and unethical, and that is if it is unethical it is almost always illegal. When discussing the topic of ethics you cannot leave out behavior. In most cases an individual’s behavioral patterns usually determines their level of ethical thought process. In the text is says this about behavior, “People’s behavior must match their set of values. It is not enough to believe that patient confidentiality is important if one then freely discusses a patient’s personal information with a coworker or a friend”(Fremgen, 2009). Patient Privacy is the issue at hand and one of the most important laws that we have governing healthcare profession today. According to the American Medical News Journal, patient health information was…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Health record breach violations are an ethical issue facing healthcare. In the article from the Journal of AHIMA titled “Reports Pour in under CA’s New Privacy Laws,” the writer Chris Dimick discusses record breach violations. Reports have been pouring into the California Department of Public Health since the state began requiring healthcare entities to report all incidents of unauthorized record access.( Journal of AHIMA, 2009/07). According to the article the law took effect January 1, 2009, that requires the healthcare entities in California to report all incidents of unauthorized record access. According to the California Law unauthorized access of patient’s records are to be…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This article presents a case study highlighting the conflict between an individual’s right to privacy and the rights of patients and staff to know when a professional standard has been breached. The process by which the administrator determines a course of action is reviewed in the context of workplace realities through an ethical analysis. The growth of information systems and the increased involvement of third parties in decision-making have created new issues regarding confidentiality and the release of sensitive information for health care personnel who are in a position of…

    • 1299 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays