Ethics

John Rodela

Instructor Huizenga

Ethics BHS 1340

14 March 2012

Doctor and Patient Confidentiality

In this article, Mark Siegler argues that with things changing in the medical field such as medicine, health-care teams and third-party insurance programs, the traditional doctor-patient confidentiality is also changing. In any doctor-patient relationship, the doctor has a duty to keep the patients information private as possible and not disclose any information without the patients consent. Mr. Siegler explains that medical professionals are being too careless with the privacy of patients. Medical professionals who disclose patient information can be liable for damages one suffers from the disclosure. Mark wants us to be aware that medical confidentiality no longer exist or has gradually broken down over the years. He also adds the oaths as well as the code of ethics are useless as well. There are still rules to follow but there are also a number of expectations to rules where a health care provider may release patient records without liability. A few examples would be gunshot wounds, child abuse, some communicable diseases or viruses, professional malpractice, and health insurance companies. Mark explains how the confidentiality principle is compromised in routine medical care. Checking into how many health professionals actually had access to patient medical records is a lot more than one would imagine. At one university hospital have done a calculation there were anywhere from twenty-five too one-hundred health professionals who had access to one man’s person’s records. Doctors tell patients that the professionals all need access to his or her records to better serve the patient; to me this is nowhere near confidentiality. Although there are instances that are understandable if a professional discloses information, for instance somebody admits to a psychiatrist that they had murdered someone and they are still a threat but if there is no threat to oneself or...