Nursing and Health Care Informatics Ethics and the Law
“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 Health Information Technology (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.
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 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.
Write a minimum of 550 words essay in APA format with a minimum of 3 references from the list in the instructions area. Include the level one headings as numbered below:
post a cohesive response that addresses the following:
1) Describe your selected ethical issue (example of ethical issues in nursing Informatics are: Ethical Use of Genomic Information and Electronic Medical Records, Alarm Fatigue, Privacy, Confidentiality, and Data Sharing). Choose one!
2) Analyze the potential liabilities that this issue poses to the organization by referencing the AMIA Code of Ethics.
3) Formulate strategies that the organization could implement to address the ethical issue.
Required Readings
Course Text: American Nurses Association. (2008). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice. Silver Spring, MD: Author.
“Ethics in Nursing Informatics” (p. 49-52)
This page of the text introduces three common ethical codes used in health care today.
Croll, P. (2010). Privacy, security and access with sensitive health information. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 151, 167-175.
The author proposes a model for controlling the security of health information networks and systems.
Hjort, B. (2007). AHIMA report addresses evolving role of health care privacy and security officers. Journal of Health Care Compliance, 9(3), 47-68.
This article identifies the challenges and responsibilities of health care workers employed in privacy and security positions.
Layman, E. J. (2008). Ethical issues and the electronic health record. The Health Care Manager, 27(2), 165-176.
The findings within this article provide recommendations for health personnel, leaders, and policy makers when attempting to design ethically sound electronic health records.
Mackenzie, G., & Carter, H. (2010). Medico legal issues. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 151, 176-182.
Within this article, the authors provide an overview of the legal issues, precautions, and potential breaches that surround the privacy and security of electronic patient records
O’Keefe-McCarthy, S. (2009). Technologically-mediated nursing care: The impact on moral agency. Nursing Ethics, 16(6), 786-796.
Examine technology’s ability to negatively affect the patient/nurse relationship as decisions are based more on data and less on emotional and pedagogical reasoning by referencing the material found in this article.
Withrow, S. C. (2010). How to avoid a HIPAA horror story. Healthcare Financial Management, 64(8), 82-88.
The HIPAA horror story that is detailed here underlines the importance of adopting HIPAA privacy and security provisions in efforts to reduce potential violations and financial threats.
California HealthCare Foundation. (2011).
Retrieved from http://www.chcf.org/
The California HealthCare Foundation outlines quality reform plans that improve efficiency and reduce cost for California’s patients.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2010). CMS EHR meaningful use overview.
https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/30_Meaningful_Use.asp
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines the term meaningful use and also its view of meaningful use criteria, requirements, and financial impact.
American Nurses Association. (2011). Ethics and human rights.
Retrieved from http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/HealthcareandPolicyIssues/ANAPositionStatements/EthicsandHumanRights.aspx
See this website to view position statement documents developed by the ANA to promote adherence to ethics and human rights.
Healthcare Information and Management Systems. (2011). Privacy & security toolkit.
Retrieved from http://www.himss.org/ASP/topics_pstoolkit.asp
At this website, you will find a categorized tool kit that consists of implementation plans, legislation, and case studies to help health care professionals better understand matters of privacy and security.
The American Medical Informatics Association. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.amia.org/about-amia/ethics
At this website, you will find an American Medical Informatics Code of Ethics for Healthcare Professionals.
Required Media
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Transforming nursing and healthcare through technology: Healthcare informatics: Ethics and law. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 10 minutes.
In this week’s media presentation, Dr. Don Detmer gives his insights on the government’s initiatives to create secure and meaningful electronic health records.
