Nursing and Health Care Informatics Ethics and the Law Discussion
“Whatever, in connection with my professional service, or not in connection with it, I see or hear, in the life of men, which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such should be kept secret.”
—Confidentiality excerpt from the Hippocratic Oath (as cited in Croll, 2010)
Traditional schools of medicine have a ritual of reciting oath excerpts such as the one above during their graduation ceremonies. Such excerpts usually revolve around a professional’s promise to uphold the ideals of patient safety and confidentiality to the best of his or her ability.
With the continued integration of HIT, and advances in technology such as hand-held computers, new ethical considerations have evolved within health care settings. For example, wireless capabilities can provide easier access to information from unauthorized outside parties. While technological advances have led to improvements in health care, they have also created new vulnerabilities. Doctorally prepared nurses need to be aware of ethical issues surrounding the use of patient information, technology, and the respective liabilities.
Nursing and Health Care Informatics Ethics and the Law Discussion Reference:
Croll, P. (2010). Privacy, security and access with sensitive health information. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 151, 167–175.
To prepare:
- Reflect on this week’s Learning Resources, focusing on the ethical and legal issues associated with usage of data and health information.
- For this Discussion, identify an ethical issue related to data collection or information management at your organization or one with which you are familiar.
- Determine the potential liabilities that this ethical issue presents by reviewing
Nursing and Health Care Informatics Ethics and the Law Discussion the AMIA Code of Ethics.
- Consider the legal aspects of your ethical issue and the steps that could be taken to avoid or minimize risk.
By Day 3 post a cohesive response that addresses the following:
- Describe your selected ethical issue.
- Analyze the potential liabilities that this issue poses to the organization by referencing the AMIA Code of Ethics.
- Formulate strategies that the organization could implement to address the ethical issue.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.
By Day 6 respond to two of your colleagues in one or more of the following ways:
- Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, evidence, or research.
- Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
Nursing and Health Care Informatics Ethics and the Law Discussion - Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own research in the Walden Library.
- Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.
- Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.
- Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you learned and/or any insights you gained as a result of the comments made by your colleagues.
Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and any additional sources.
Click on the Reply button below to post your response.
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Ethical Issue
Student education records are protected under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (U.S. Department of Education, 2018). In nursing schools, students are required to submit personal information about their health, immunization status, and physical abilities/limitations. As part of the FERPA protection Act, the Nursing School is required to keep this information confidential, private, and protected. As nursing students, the faculty are responsible for treating each student as a unique individual According to the ANA Code of Ethics “The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of the health problems” (p. 49). The health records, which the student submits, may have information that will affect how the faculty members view the student. It is vital that the records be kept secure with only pertinent people having access to those records, namely the Nursing Director of the Program. The records, which are kept in a locked file cabinet located in a locked file room.
Potential Liabilities
The AMIA Code of Ethics states people have a right to their information to be private and protected and therefore, a right to know who has access to their information (AMIA, 2013). The access to the keys is the ethical risk. Faculty members have access to the student files in the file room. The faculty does need access for student advising and contributing to student contact sheets. The keys to the files are kept on a large key ring with all the keys to all the file cabinets on the key ring.
When faculty has the opportunity to see or hear about a student’s health issues, it can color the way the faculty views the student and their abilities etc. Gossip can also be included after a faculty views the student record. This can contribute to the student being differently or unfairly. The students do have a right to privacy and to have their information protected. This includes who has access to their information.
Strategies to Address Ethical Issue
The simplest strategy would be to move the health information to a separate file locked in a different room. This is easier said than done. Faculty does need access to student information related to the health records, for example, the clinical instructor needs access to the records to ensure eligibility for clinical rotations.
One solution could be to create separate forms so that the information could be separated and filed in different places. The Director could be placed in a position of trust to be able to protect the information. The background checks must be filed separately as well. The information is only revealed if the student does not pass the background check and can’t be in clinical agencies. The student cannot be in the program if they can’t be in clinical rotations. It is not as easy as it may seem to solve the privacy issues of student records. Careful planning and policies must be in place to best protect the information.
References
American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice. Silver Spring, Author.
Goodman, K., Adams, S., Berner, E., Embi, P., Haiung, R., Hurdle, J., Jones, D., … Weinkelstein, P. (2013). AMIA’s code of professional ethics. Journal of American Medical Informatics Association 20(1), 141-143. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1136/amiajnl-2012-001035
U.S. Department of Education (2018). Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html
Name: NURS_8210_ Week5_Discussion_Rubric
| Exemplary | Proficient | Sufficient | Developing | ||
| Discussion Postings and Responses |
4 (100%) – 4 (100%) • Discussion postings and responses are responsive to the requirements of the Discussion instructions and are posted by the due date. • Discussion postings and responses significantly contribute to the quality of interaction by providing rich and relevant examples, applicable research support, discerning ideas, and/or stimulating thoughts/probes and are respectful when offering suggestions, constructive feedback, or opposing viewpoints. • Discussion postings and responses demonstrate an in-depth understanding of concepts and issues presented in the course (e.g., insightful interpretations or analyses, accurate and perceptive parallels, and well-supported opinions) and are well supported, when appropriate, by pertinent research. • Discussion postings and responses provide evidence that the student has read and considered a sampling of colleagues’ postings and synthesized key comments and ideas, as applicable. |
3 (75%) – 3 (75%) • Discussion postings and responses are responsive to the requirements of the Discussion instructions and are posted by the due date. • Discussion postings and responses contribute to the quality of interaction by providing examples, research support when appropriate, ideas, and/or thoughts/probes, and are respectful when offering suggestions, constructive feedback, or opposing viewpoints. • Discussion postings and responses demonstrate some depth of understanding of the issues and show that the student has absorbed the general principles and ideas presented in the course, although viewpoints and interpretations are not always thoroughly supported. • Discussion postings and responses provide evidence that the student has considered at least some colleagues’ postings and synthesized some key comments and ideas, as applicable. |
2 (50%) – 2 (50%) • Discussion postings and responses are posted by the due date but are not always responsive to the requirements of the Discussion instructions. • Discussion postings and responses do little to contribute to the quality of interaction or to stimulate thinking and learning. • Discussion postings and responses demonstrate a minimal understanding of concepts presented, tend to address peripheral issues, and, although generally accurate, display some omissions and/or errors. • Discussion postings and responses do not provide evidence that the student has considered at least some colleagues’ postings or synthesized at least some key comments and ideas, as applicable. |
0 (0%) – 1 (25%) • Discussion postings and responses are posted past the late deadline, defined as 11:59 p.m. on the due date, and/or do not address the requirements of the Discussion instructions. • Discussion postings and responses do not contribute to the quality of interaction or stimulate thinking and learning. • Discussion postings and responses do not demonstrate an understanding of the concepts presented in the course, and/or do not address relevant issues, and/or are inaccurate and contain many omissions and/or errors. • Discussion postings and responses do not provide evidence that the student has read or considered colleagues’ postings, as applicable. |
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| Total Points: 4 | |||||
Name: NURS_8210_ Week5_Discussion_Rubric