Discuss The Importance Of Patient Privacy And Documentation Of The Health Records (Coursework Sample)

Patient Privacy
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Introduction
Privacy closely relates to confidentiality of patient’s health information. This phenomenon is associable to the right of the patient to make decisions without anyone’s influence on what basis his or her health records should be shared ("Confidentiality, privacy, and security of health information: Balancing interests | the University of Illinois at Chicago", 2017).Confidentiality, on the other hand, is the requirement for the professionals who have direct access to a patient’s health records to keep it secret. The confidentiality concept of medical practitioners can be traced back to the fourth century BC or the Oath of Hippocrates and lays a foundation for the guidelines of secrecy (Mathews, 2016). Presently, most of the health facilities use the Electronic health records (EHR) and especially in the developing countries. However, the new advancement in health informatics has come along with challenges that cut across ethics of confidentiality and privacy of the patient’s records (Purtilo,2015).
Some of the institutions that might be interested in the health information of a patient include international airports, during cross-border flights in case of epidemics in some countries. For instance, mid-2016 when Western Africa countries were afflicted by Ebola pandemic, everyone traveler had to be screened at the airport and information shared with the management to determine if the person is legible for the flight or not. This phenomenon compromises the ethics guidelines associated with patient privacy in order to protect the masses in other areas.
Sharing of patient’s health information electronically other institutions such as schools, police training centers, and others are prone to sabotage by hackers due to software bugs. Patient privacy between the patient and the physician fosters patients’ confidence in medical services. However, the EHR system limits the security of patients’ health information making it vulnerable to access by unauthorized institutions, especially those with a malicious intention over the results.
Conclusion
In conclusion, patient privacy is a delicate ethical issue that if infringed proves that incompetence of either the medical practitioners or the ineffectiveness of the records handling system. Leakage of such information may lead to social stigma, change in personality traits or eve...