pros and cons of confidentiality in healthcare pros and cons of confidentiality in healthcare

People could make long-term plans in a more profound manner. The most obvious benefit of utilizing AI technology is its ability to improve patient experiences. Obstetriciangynecologists should be aware of how the process of the release of medical records of minors is addressed by their institution. Mature minor: An adolescent younger than the age of majority who, even if living at home as a dependent, demonstrates the cognitive maturity to give informed consent. Many people are familiar with the idea of confidentiality as an integral part of the professional code of ethics in the legal, medical, and mental health fields. This compromises trust in the providerpatient relationship. Measures to ensure protection will vary based on the EHR system capabilities and institution-specific policies. Being aware of alternate health care referral centers for free or substantially decreased costs may be of benefit for the adolescent if there is a risk of billing disclosure. Therefore, they Pros of the Confidentiality, Safety, Rights, and the Security of Patients in an Era of Increased Socialized Medicine What's the Pros & Cons Of Digital Health? - The Healthcare Guys Statutes on the rights of minors to consent to health care services vary by state, and obstetriciangynecologists and other health care providers should be familiar with the regulations that apply to their practice. Second, we want to make sure that they have had the opportunity to learn to talk with a doctor by themselves so that when they are young adults, they are prepared to communicate and advocate for what they need. The staff is always available to discuss health problems or answer questions. All states allow disclosure to third party payers (insurance companies), although in most cases the patient will provide consent to this practice at the time of treatment (generally in a section of most hospital or physician office intake forms) or when one signs the initial coverage contract. Emancipation: A legal procedure whereby minors become legally responsible for themselves, and their parents or guardians are no longer responsible (financially or otherwise). Some states have statutes that require reporting of abuse of hospital patients or long-term care patients, elder abuse, spousal abuse, and domestic abuse. Available at: National Institute for Health Care Management. WebPros And Cons Of Sarbanes-Oxley Act Of 2002. Thompson LA, Martinko T, Budd P, Mercado R, Schentrup AM. WebConfidentiality refers to protection of privileged and private information shared during a health care encounter and in medical records that document the encounter 1. Cons: A single-payer system can be more costly, as it allows doctors and health care facilities to negotiate the terms of their contracts. We are a society strangely obsessed both with privacy and obtaining information. Online therapy, also known as teletherapy, virtual therapy, or internet/online counseling, among other names, rapidly expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it continues to grow. The network of participating doctors and hospitals. Obstetriciangynecologists are encouraged to know their individual systems and institutional policies regarding confidentiality, EHRs, patient portals, and the open access for visit notes. The privacy rule, which is based on requirements contained in HIPAA, provides protection against parents or guardians access to protected health information for the following circumstances: adolescents aged 18 years and older; emancipated minors; minors who can legally consent to services or receive services without parental or guardian consent or notification according to state or other applicable law; or when a parent or guardian assents to an agreement of confidentiality between the minor adolescent and health care provider. ACOG Committee Opinion No. Pros And Cons Of Confidentiality And The Institution Of HIPAA Ethical Dilemmas: Breaking Confidentiality In other words, socialized medicine is one of the many forms of social insurance. Legal protections for confidentiality are the result of our societys interest in privacy, but they can still be outweighed in cases where other society values (such as public health and safety) outweigh them. Require a parent or guardian code word to access an adolescents patient portal. If systems of EHRs have already been established, procedures to maintain adolescent confidentiality should be implemented where appropriate 17. This essay examines the pros and cons of the confidentiality, safety, rights, and the security of patients in an era of increased socialized medicine. This is because; if an individuals privacy is not protected or guaranteed, people find it hard to give complete and candid information about their health even to their own personal physicians leave alone to the insurer. Optimally, obstetriciangynecologists should ensure that medical record information, including EHR information, for care provided under minor consent or mature minor provisions is considered confidential and should not be disclosed to parents or guardians without adolescent consent. Implement systemwide changes: train front desk personnel and medical staff who work with EHRs and answer office phone calls to be aware of and advocate for the confidentiality of adolescent patients as they transition into the adult health care system Box 3. For example, if the physicians primary role is to prolong life, confidentiality should be breached when the disclosure would serve to prolong life, or the failure to disclose would shorten life. A survey of a large hospital corporation in London found that With respect to children under 18, however, these protections are generally thought to be appropriate, particularly in cases when a physician may suspect a child's injury he or she has been called upon to treat may be the result of child abuse. One of the biggest problems in confidentiality protections is the lack of clarity about when patient confidentiality can be breached. Sharing medical information for research purposes is more controversial. Bulk pricing was not found for item. WebData access limitations. Available at: English A, Bass L, Boyle AD, Eshragh F. State minor consent laws: a summary . The rapid development of technology geared toward healthcare services has led to the creation of the term telehealth, which essentially means virtual care. There is little to no control over income distribution. Advantages and Disadvantages of Medical Technology in Healthcare The maintenance of patient confidentiality may be affected by the widespread adoption and integration of electronic health records (EHRs) in clinical care, which may necessitate a closer evaluation of the unique challenge this presents for providers of adolescent health care. A 2016 study demonstrated that, when given the opportunity, adolescents use of EHRs afforded enhanced medical care and, although they accessed the portal less for laboratory results, appointments, or prescriptions, adolescents did engage in frequent confidential communications with their health care providers through patient portals 4. In as much as it is the right of the patient to keep his or her health information private, it is prudential for the person to consider that this would interfere with his or her health (Ventola, 2014). During this era of socialized medicine, there are both pros and cons of confidentiality, rights, safety, and the security of the patients. Quicker access to test results. J Adolesc Health 2007;40:21826. Electronic Medical Records: Pros and Cons | Virtru There are many ways to define confidentiality, and how we conceptualize it affects how it functions in our everyday lives. you may experience negative reactions ranging from maltreatment to a breach of confidentiality and even to unfair dismissal. However, there may be substantial cost to these safeguards, and constant reevaluation of protection is imperative. Any updates to this document can be found on acog.org or by calling the ACOG Resource Center. Identify the patients preferred route of contact. If a patient declines a chaperone, it should be explained that the chaperone is an integral part of the clinical team whose role includes assisting with the examination and protecting the patient and the physician. Cons: Physicians have less autonomy and less continuity with patients. What you tell your doctor, lawyer, or psychologist is supposedly protected information that cannot be shared with others, no matter how intimate, gory, or revealing it may be. New England Journal of Medicine, 361(21), e46. Recently, however, there have been some concerns raised about such databases, especially when the information can be linked to individuals (in other words, it is not completely anonymous) or it is stored electronically without adequate security. The United States continues to move toward a nationwide health information network that will allow health care providers to obtain quick access to patient medical information through EHRs. Variations in practice may be warranted when, in the reasonable judgment of the treating clinician, such course of action is indicated by the condition of the patient, limitations of available resources, or advances in knowledge or technology. Contradictory viewpoints. In the latter situation, the laws usually provide protections against liability for disclosure. A number of states have adopted this principle, and some have extended it to all physicians or mental health professionals. Available at: Promoting healthy relationships in adolescents. Another problem, however is what to do regarding the patient who has discovered a breach of confidentiality. (2009). 26th January 2022 Tech Digest Correspondent Health. While ACOG makes every effort to present accurate and reliable information, this publication is provided as is without any warranty of accuracy, reliability, or otherwise, either express or implied. ACOG Committee Opinion No. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996: When Congress passed HIPAA in 1996, the law was known primarily for its provisions that provide stronger health insurance protection for people leaving jobs and people with preexisting medical conditions. There are some theorists that have pointed out that privacy is a basic human right or good that has got some intrinsic values. Even though ensuring the privacy of a patient is quite important during these days socialized medicine, but it has got some of its disadvantages. An overview of consent to reproductive health services by young people. References | Terms and Conditions of Use. Get Your Custom Essay on, The Pros and Cons of the Confidentiality of Patients in an Era of Increased Socialized Medicine. Ensure compliance by their workforce. Pros and cons Hospitals and office-based systems that currently use or are initiating OpenNotes should take steps to ensure that adolescent confidentiality is protected. Pediatrics 2012;130:98790. Engaging patients through open notes: an evaluation using mixed methods. Allow parental or guardian access to the EHR to expire at the age state law requires confidentiality. They are of the argument that privacy is in itself objectively valuable, as an important component of human well-being. She had been admitted with HIV-related complications from pneumonia. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. This is due to the fact that if the doctor might not be able to offer the right care to the patient. Telehealth Advantages of Medical Technology in Healthcare: 1. In the medical field, confidentiality even dates back to the Hippocratic Oath, but there are many updated versions of confidentiality, defined by various medical associations around the word. Similar issues apply to postmortem disclosure. In these cases, obstetriciangynecologists and other health care providers should be cognizant of alternative ways to share information with the adolescent if coercion to access the adolescents login information is suspected. Any potential conflicts have been considered and managed in accordance with ACOGs Conflict of Interest Disclosure Policy. In certain instances, specific billing modifiers used with preventative services provided under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will generate nonitemized explanation of benefits statements. Generally, parents or guardians and adolescents should be informed, both separately and together, that the information each of them shares with the health care provider will be treated as confidential. Nature documentaries showing the loss of plant diversity around the world raise our awareness of environmental threats to plant life. Many institutions struggle to meet the current standard for providing access to and maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive portions of the medical record as required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 4. Journal of Adolescent Health, 25: The second issue, which stems from the first, is under what circumstances confidentiality should be broken. Jessica Wilen Berg is Professor of Law and Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University's School of Law and at the Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH. 803. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has neither solicited nor accepted any commercial involvement in the development of the content of this published product. Do not share any client information on social media sites. 4. It builds trust: Experimenting with a range of behavior is common among adolescents and young adults. *For more information, see Guttmacher Institute. When a patient turns 18 years old, allow EHR systems to reset the patient as an adult. People take this matter This section outlines the mandatory reporting situations (those that require disclosure to specific authorities) as well as the permissive exceptions (those that allow a physician to use his or her own discretion in deciding whether to disclose a patients information). Importance Of Confidentiality In Health Care Disclosing this information would prolong his or her life, but it might also prolong suffering. If, after counseling, the patient refuses the chaperone, this decision should be respected and documented in the medical record 11. WebConfidentiality. Breaking Confidentiality in Clients with Because online therapy involves communication via computers or mobile devices, it has security issues The Importance of Supplemental Disability Insurance. Again, it is a matter of weighing the pros and cons between keeping and breaching confidentiality. The sharing of medical information is one of the most complicated areas, and most patients are not even aware of the extent to which information about their care is shared within a hospital setting. Top of Page WebDisadvantages of Paper Medical Records. Webthe confidentiality of adolescents health care in-formation are fundamentally necessary to allow health care professionals to provide appropriate health care to adolescents and OpenNotes. BMJ Qual Saf 2017;26:26270. Sexual and reproductive health care services in the pediatric setting. Hagan JF, Shaw JS, Duncan PM. Fidelity-based confidentiality suggests that physicians have an obligation not to disclosure information shared with them in their medical role. Similar caution should be assumed when releasing information to other health care providers. Patients should have autonomy regarding parent or guardian presence during examination, but a parent or guardian should not take the place of a chaperone 12. Obstet Gynecol 2014;123:38993. The most obvious examples of public health concerns outweighing individual rights to confidentiality are from contagious disease cases.