The moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding the issue
According to the article main ethical issue here is that a nurse was sacked for looking at
... [Show More] clients' private hospital information and records in west Wales. It was discovered that the nurse several clients have their records been accessed by the nurse without the knowledge of the client and the organization. The number of clients who were affected were also released, but the clients were assured no changes were made to their records (BBC News, 2016). It is ethically and morally wrong to breach the confidentiality of client, but, was I worth sacking the nurse before carrying out further investigation to verify the data viewed and the reason?
Furthermore, there was no evidence the nurse did anything wrong with the data other than viewing the records. It remains ethical issues why the nurse was sacked before further investigation and being that he did not do anything with the records.
The ethical issue compared to the State Health Laws and Regulations
In Maryland, obligation of healthcare provider to confidentiality prohibits them from disclosing information and data the client's case without permission (Blightman, Griffiths & Danbury, 2014). Healthcare providers should also take precautions to make sure that only authorized access to client information occurs. As defined by the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1997 (HIPAA), every organization is expected to have policies put in place to protect the privacy of the clients’ electronic information and include a proper procedures for the computer access and security (Beltran-Aroca et al. 2016).
The process of ethical decision making
In deciding this ethical situation, I will take six basic steps. The first step is finding the facts in the situation by establishing why the nurse viewed the medical records. The second step is decided if the situation is legal issue or ethical issues by considering who has been harmed by the action or decision. That is, after accessing the client’s record, was anyone affected?
The third step is to identify options and consequences. These may include sacking the nurses, filing a lawsuit against him or using other disciplinary action such as suspension and advising the nurse on his obligation and duty to observe client confidentiality. The fourth steps is to weight the three options mentioned by assessing the pros and cons of each of the options outlined in step 3. The fifth step is to choose the best option considered ethical. That is, ethical decision is “the right thing to do” . Finally, I will implement the option by putting the decision into effect requires. [Show Less]