Administrative Ethics - Hcs335 - Week 4

Administrative Ethics

Dawn Wrightington

HCS335

November 14, 2013

Professor Cynthia Gerdik

Administrative Ethics

Patient privacy and confidentiality poses a concern for any health care institution or medical professional. The government realized the necessity for stricter protection of patient information and implemented the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996 to address this issue. The legislation includes penalties and possibly civil action for infringements against the law; however, people have conflicting views and some may argue certain situations necessitate the release of private information for the public good. Health care leaders must balance ethical judgment and the interest of the public safety when making decisions in these scenarios.

One such situation occurred in September 2012 when the Duval County Health Department (DCPH) Director, Bob Harmon, failed to release information a massive tuberculosis outbreak in Jacksonville. Harmon indicated the DCPH thought the outbreak was under control after 2008. He also stated the situation was not controlled and the department should have notified the public (Singer, 2012). Arguments and public outcry support the release of the information related to this outbreak. Further, if DCPH had released the details to the public, officials and anyone in the population could have taken necessary action to help prevent further spreading of the condition. Another scenario involving public safety and the release of PHI occurred in Aurora, Colorado.

Patient-doctor confidentiality as well as HIPAA protects patient information and discussions. However, several events over the past several years involved persons with possible mental health related conditions who had access to weapons and killed people. Incidents including Virginia Tech in 2007, Gabby Giffords in 2011, and later tragedies in Aurora, CO, and Newtown, CT. Each of the assailants involved in these events supposedly had a...