Patient Confidentiality
Research papers on patient confidentiality are custom written and can be designed for your nursing course or any aspect of the nursing profession.
During the last century, ethical rules regarding medical patients have changed in order to protect the individual's right to privacy. These ethical concerns have recently been broadened in order to include the surge in the use of information technology or computers to maintain patient information. Additionally, as the federal guidelines, related to medical practice and research, have evolved, so has the importance of the related ethics regarding patient confidentiality. A third factor related to the protection of patient records and information is with regard to current nursing practice. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these three factors:
- Information technology and patient confidentiality
- Federal guidelines and patient confidentiality
- Nursing practice and patient confidentiality
Patient Confidentiality and Computer Technology
Computer technology has increased the productivity of various medical services. Patient records may be maintained on databases so that quick searches can be made of the kinds of medicine the individuals are taking and their allergies. Doctors may email information and questions regarding certain patients to nursing staff. Since nurses typically manage the charts and records of patients, they must take extra care in order to protect a patient's confidentiality. So computer printouts and screens should be maintained in such a way that information is not revealed to non-medical staff that may be near by. Although computers are useful tool in health care, nurses must make every effort to control the information so that it is not seen by individuals who do not have a right to the patient's information. For example, nurses must also "log out" of patient profiles that they are utilizing while away from the desk. This prevents the wrong individual from reading the record while she or he is away from the desk momentarily.