An examination of the disclosure of the names of providers who have breached the Code of the Health and Disability Services Consumer Rights, with a discussion of the consultation review report and case 06HDC15791. For this assessment all names have been removed or altered to protect the individuals involved which is in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993 (Parliamentary Counsel Office [PCO], 2009). Privacy is a vital ethical issue and legal requirement, concerned with not just the keeping of ‘secrets’ but it is the foundation of respect (Polit & Beck, 2005). Diesfeld & Godbold, (2009) suggests that the New Zealand disciplinary process is a form of preventative law for patients and health care providers. Therefore it is vital for health care providers to have an understanding of their legal obligations to their profession and their patients. The Medical Council of New Zealand (2006) believes that patient’s needs should be a priority and that patients are entitled to competent health professionals. Furthermore the Medical Council of New Zealand encourages the maintenance of the patient caregiver relationship through honesty, trustworthiness and integrity. Therefore accountability is essential for health practitioners who do not comply with the accepted standard of care and to be held accountable (Johnson, 2004). According to Johnson (2004) health practitioners may be held accountable for their conduct by means of civil law proceedings, disciplinary proceedings under their relevant professional legislation e.g. Health Practitioners Act 1995, prosecution for breach of the criminal law, proceedings under the Privacy Act 1993, Human Rights Review Tribunal proceedings under the Human Rights Act 1993, Health and Disability Commissio... ... middle of paper ... ..., R. (2002) ‘The patients’ complaints system in New Zealand’. Health Affairs. Vol 21, No. 3, p.70-79. Parliamentary Counsel Office. (2009). New Zealand Legislation Acts. Privacy Act 1993. Retrieved March 18, 2010 from: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0028/latest/DLM296639.html Parliamentary Counsel Office. (2010). New Zealand Legislation Acts. Official Information Act 1982. Retrieved March 25, 2010 from: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1982/0156/latest/DLM64785.html Polit, D.F., & Beck, C. T. (2005). Essentials of Nursing Research: methods, appraisal, and utilization (6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilson. Seedhouse, D. (1998). Ethics the heart of health care. (2nd ed.). London: Wiley. St. George, I. (2007) Cole’s Medical Practice in New Zealand. Wellington: Medical Council of New Zealand.
Data Protection Act 1998: This is there to control and looks after your personal information. Everyone who uses and is able to access your personal information, there are ru...
In an ideal medical society, no dilemma should arise on whistleblowing associated with poor medical practice or illegal behaviours. However these dilemmas arise when these whistle blowers take privileged information to the public in order to address their personal concerns or conscience. It can however be said that they are often left with little or no choice. Lipley (2001) discusses a case which occurred in the UK where a nurse wrote to the media reportedly that the elderly inpatients at her organisation did not receive adequate care and that this was jeopardising their lives. The appeals tribunal ruled that her decision was right and was both reasonable and an acceptable way to raise such issues ...
The Australian Commission On Safety And Quality in Health care was founded as a powerful body to reform Health care system in Australia. It was established on 1st june 2006 in an incorporated form to lead and coordinate numerous areas related to safety and quality in healthcare across Australia (Windows into Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2011). The commission’s work programs include; development of advice, publications and resources for healthcare teams, healthcare professionals, healthcare organisations and policy makers (Australian Commission On Safety And Quality in Health care). Patients, carers and members of public play a vital role in giving shape to commission’s recommendations thereby ensuring safe, efficient and effective delivery of healthcare services. The commission acknowledges patients and carers as a partner with health service organisations and their healthcare providers. It suggests the patients and carers should be involved in decision making, planning, evaluating and measuring service. People should exercise their healthcare rights and be engaged in the decisions related to their own healthcare and treatment procedures. ...
Forrester, K., & Griffiths, D. (2010). Essentials of law for health professionals. Sydney: Mosby Elsevier. Retrieved from Google Books.
Providers must act in the best interest of the patient and their basic obligation is to do no harm and work for the public’s wellbeing. A physician shall always keep in mind the obligation of preserving human life. Providers must communicate full, accurate and unbiased information so patients can make informed decisions about their health care. As a result of their recommendations, providers are responsible for generating costs in health care but do not generate the need for those expenses. Every hospital has both an ethical as well as a legal responsibility to provide care, even if the care may be uncompensated.
The Data Protection Act 1998 places controls on the length of time, who has access, and how much personal information can be stored on an individual by organisations, businesses and the Government. Any private information must be kept secure in compliance with the law. This ensures the individual’s right to privacy and confidentiality is upheld. (Gov.uk.
“Patient advocacy is a process that involves a series of actions, behaviors and/or practices for preserving and safeguarding the rights, values, wellbeing and best interests of patients in the healthcare system” (Vaarito et al 2006, Bu and Jezewski 2007, Zomorodi and Foley 2009). Vaartio & Leino-Kilpi describe patient advocacy into two sectors; proactive advocacy and reactive advocacy (2004). Proactive advocacy includes actions aimed at aiding the patients in informed decision making and the protection of patient rights; reactive advocacy is focused on addressing safety concerns (Vaartio & Leino-Kilpi, 2004). Further concept analyses from Baldwin 2003 & Bu and Jezewski 2007, include four main sectors of patient advocacy: Protecting and empowering patient autonomy, protecting and representing the best interests of vulnerable patients, ensuring educated decision making while acting as a mediator for the patient to healthcare services, and lastly acting upon social justice to help create equitable access to adequate healthcare (CPD, 2015). Using Tanners model of clinical judgment; the process of patient advocacy begins with assessing for the need to advocate. The assessment should include the patient, environment, situation, resources and possible risks (Ellis
The Privacy Act 1988 is an Australian law which regulates the handling of personal information about individuals. This includes the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information in this case information obtained, used, stored by counsellors. The Privacy Amendment Act introduces many significant changes to the Privacy Act. While these changes will not commence until 12 March ...
Not only do health care providers have an ethical implication to care for patients, they also have a legal obligation and responsibility to care for the patient. According to the Collins English dictionary, a duty of care is ‘the legal obligation to safeguard others from harm while they are in your care, using your services or exposed to your activities’. The legal definition takes it further by making it a requirement that a person act towards others and the public with watchfulness, attention, caution and prudence which a reasonable person in the circumstances would use. If a person’s actions fail to meet the required standard, then the acts are considered negligent (Hill and Hill, 2002). If a professional fails to abide to the standard of practice for their practice in regards to their peers, they leave themselves open to criticisms or claims of breach of duty of care, and possibly negligence. Negligence is comprised of five elements: (1) duty, (2) breach, (3) cause in fact, (4) proximate cause, and (5) harm. Duty is defined as the implied duty to care/provide service, breach is the lack thereof, cause in fact must be proven by plaintiff, proximate cause means that only the harm caused directly causative to the breach itself and not additional causation, and harm is the specific injury resultant from the breach.
...ort her actions, then Jack must do so as he is too responsible for making this situation known to the appropriate people. However, one must acknowledge how difficult this may be for Jack due to the long-standing relationship he has with Linda. It should also be apparent now that Linda’s actions are unjustifiable. She is not only acting unprofessionally and unethically by not delivering the medication but she is committing an illegal offence by falsifying records and stealing from the ward. To conclude, it is important to remember that the Department of Health and Children (2008) acknowledge that healthcare has originated in a world which is not flawless and that as humans, errors are possible. However, members of the healthcare system must try and prevent these errors from occurring where possible to ensure a high standard of care which is owed to the service users.
Q1: Nursing and Midwifery council of NSW (NMC) manages complaints that may constitute unsatisfactory professional conduct via the conduct pathway. According to NSW legislation (2010), Health Practitioner Regulation Law, Section 139 B, One of the definitions of “unsatisfactory professional conduct” is a “conduct significantly below reasonable standards”. Therefore, a practitioner, whose demonstrated skills, judgement or knowledge is significantly below one’s expected level of training or experience, is determined to have unsatisfactory professional conduct. In the case study CONYARD (2015), the respondent has registered as a nurse from 1989; she has extensive experience in both pathology and general ward. She was also the “nurse in charge” since
Finally , Healthcare professionals should take appropriate action if patients right is been abused or discriminated against. Discrimination issues or problems must be treated equally and appropriate action should be taken . If healthcare professionals witness any sort of discrimination or patients report any discriminatory practices , immediate action should be taken as discrimination can have an adverse effect on the individual such as low self esteem and a sense of not belonging.
Solove, Daniel J. “5 Myths about Privacy” Washington Post: B3. Jun 16 2013. SIRS. Web. 10
In keeping within current legislation on the protection and respect of an individuals’ right of anonymity, (Clamp, Gough and Land 2004; Polit and Beck 2007), and to confidentiality, (Burns and G...