Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Taking pictures to document the injuries that the patient inflicted on herself could be a reasonable step in the provision of medical care. The patient was unable to consent because of self-inflicted wounds, and there is not enough information to know whether delay in taking the pictures could have had an adverse medical outcome for the patient. Therefore, taking the pictures would not be a violation.
However, it seems equally clear that sharing the pictures would be a violation. The Privacy Rule dictates minimum access, which means that access to a patient's private health information should be limited to as few people as necessary to administer treatment. There does not seem to be a medical reason for the physician to show the 15 people the pictures of the suicide patient. Therefore, I believe that the patient's confidentiality was violated. However, if the group of 15 people happened to be doctors and staff in the hospital's psychiatric ward, I might have to revisit that conclusion.
The more difficult issue is how I would handle the situation. Under HIPAA, a nurse can be penalized for violating a patient's confidentiality, but there is no mandatory duty to report a violation...
Therefore, I would not be violating any laws by failing to report the violation. In fact, because I would need to release confidential patient information to a reporting agency to report the violation, I might actually be violating the Privacy Rule to do so. Furthermore, while I might want to tell the patient about the violation, the patient is clearly in a state of fragile mental health. I would be concerned that such a revelation might have a negative impact on the patient's health. Therefore, I believe that the appropriate response would be to discuss the incident with the nurse manager and someone in the hospital's administration in order to determine what could be done to prevent the physician from sharing these photos with anyone else.
References
Stewart, M. (2012). What nurses need to know about HIPPA. Retrieved December 10, 2012
from Motlow College Nursing website: www.mscc.edu/nursing/hippa.ppt
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2012). Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
Retrieved December 10, 2012 from HHS.gov website: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/index.html
Confidentiality Breaches in Clinical Practice The confidentiality and privacy of patients are considered as one of the fundamental freedoms that they should enjoy and are safeguarded under Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA). It is also a precept of the American Medical Association’s Code of Ethics and the Hippocratic Oath. The breach of confidentiality is unethical and illegal. Medical professionals are under the obligation of protecting the patient’s confidentiality.
Patient Rights The major objective of informed consent is to give the patient an opportunity play a role in his health care decision. The law requires physicians to get an informed consent of their patients before any medical procedure. The patient has a right to be informed and to be made aware of the nature of the procedure, available alternatives to the medical operation, the risks, benefits and uncertainties related to
Therapy -- Patient Confidentiality and Privilege Rights Therapy & Patient Rights Under the usual conditions of therapy, patient therapy information is protected by legal concept of privilege. Privilege to determine how and when therapy records are disclosed belongs to the patient. A therapist has a professional obligation to maintain confidentiality. Essentially, this means that everything that is discussed in a therapy session must be kept in confidence, and that duty of confidence
The SBOH seems set to proceed with mandatory HIV reporting by name. That alternative is presently used by 30 other states. It is presently used by Washington for the other 52 infectious diseases with mandatory reporting. In that regard, it is an easy option to implement. Moreover, because name reporting is done already with AIDS, there is little room to justify different treatment for HIV than is already being given
Patient Rights and Informed Consent The relevant legal issues at stake in this case are those related to the question of whether Mr. Jones is indeed incompetent and if Mr. Jones is indeed incompetent then what is the authority that should be assigned to the surrogate daughter of the patient in this case. The hospital physician and staff must avoid legal liability and ensure that they are in adherence to
Another way to put the patient at ease during moments like this is for the nurse to be absolutely certain that she is not showing any signs of being judgmental. If this happens, it could throw the patient off guard and create an uncomfortable situation where the patient no longer feels comfortable being honest with the nurse. Once this happens, the nurse will have an inaccurate patient history and