Confidentiality is the foundation of a trusting relationship between a doctor and their patient. The patient believes that their information will be confidential, so they let themselves be vulnerable with their providers and share their most sensitive information. According to Veatch “confidentiality involves more than patient benefit, it is derived from fidelity commitment.” The doctor is in a dilemma because both individuals involved are his patients. He owes the male patient confidentiality, meaning before he discloses the patient’s information he needs his permission (Veatch, p. 67). However, if the doctor decides to divulge the information to his female patient, he will follow the Hippocratic principle, which is doing what he thinks is …show more content…
According to Veatch (p.68) “being Hippocratic to both patients simultaneously in impossible; if the physician believes it is in his patient’s best interest to know about his fiancé’s sexuality, he has a duty to tell her.” however I think confidentiality overrides the Hippocratic principle on this case. As a nurse I understand how it feels like to be in a dilemma, sometimes at work, It is frustrating when a family member who is involved in the care for their loved ones want information but I can divulge any pertinent information about the patient because they are not the patient's responsible party. All I can say to them is the patient will explain to you if it is a competent patient, if not I will refer them to the person is responsible for the patient. Even though most times the person who is the responsible party is not available physically, I still have to respect the patient’s right to confidentiality and not disclose any information to the one who is at the bedside caring for them. The physician has an obligation to keep the patient information confidential, and he should be aware of those obligations because he owed it to him, also the principle of fidelity and respect generates obligation; therefore “confidentiality in this case cannot be overridden by mere consideration of the consequences of another patient” (Veatch, p.
Cullen and Klein understand that deception is wrong and disrespectful to the patient but criticize that some cases are more complicated and not so black and white. They argue that physicians should be able to withhold information that can significantly benefit the patient. The key part is that the benefit is greater than what the deception causes.
One of the most complex, ever-changing careers is the medical field. Physicians are not only faced with medical challenges, but also with ethical ones. In “Respect for Patients, Physicians, and the Truth”, by Susan Cullen and Margaret Klein, they discuss to great extent the complicated dilemmas physicians encounter during their practice. In their publication, Cullen and Klein discuss the pros and cons of disclosing the medical diagnosis (identifying the nature or cause of the disease), and the prognosis (the end result after treating the condition). But this subject is not easily regulated nor are there guidelines to follow. One example that clearly illustrates the ambiguity of the subject is when a patient is diagnosed with a serious, life-threatening
A basic definition of confidentiality is that information about a patient is not discussed openly (Edge and Groves, 2007). This ethical principle became an issue when the government gave medical facilities lists of people who were in the study. Again, the patients were not informed that they would not be able to
The expectation in the practitioner/client relationship is that any information disclosed will not be shared with others. Confidentiality is emphasized to provide the client with a safe haven in which to share traumatic events or embarrassing personal information about themselves (Krase, 2013). Disclosing this type of sensitive information...
Corey, G., Corey, M.S. & Callahan, P. (2007). Confidentiality: Ethical and legal issues. In Brooks/Cole (8th Ed.), Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions pp. 208-264.
In “Should Doctors Tell the Truth?” Joseph Collins argues for paternalistic deception, declaring that it is permissible for physicians to deceive their patients when it is in their best interests. Collins considers his argument from a “pragmatic” standpoint, rather than a moral one, and uses his experience with the sick to justify paternalistic deception. Collins argues that in his years of practicing, he has encountered four types of patients who want to know the truth: those that want to know so they know how much time they have left, those who do not want to know and may suffer if told the truth, those who are incapable of hearing the truth, and those who do not have a serious diagnosis (605). Collins follows with the assertion that the more serious the condition is, the less likely the patient is to seek information about their health (606).
Effective communication between patient and clinician is an important aspect to patient care. Proper communication has a direct positive impact on patient care and adversely poor communication has a direct negative impact on patient care. I will define the seven principles of patient-clinician communication and how I apply these communications with my patients. I will also describe the three methods currently being used to improve interdisciplinary communication and the one method that my area of practice currently uses. Then, I will explain the ethical principles that can be applied to issues in patient-clinician communication. And Lastly, the importance of ethics in communication and how patient safety is influenced by good or bad team communication.
Without patient confidentiality, patients would not be willing to tell about themselves or their family member for fear of it getting out (tTelegraph). If they were asked
There are a lot of doctors out there who have a lot of patients and feel like they are under so pressure. However, in the case presented to us, I felt that the doctor put Valerie’s self-care on the line. The reason I believe this is because the doctor was almost complaining that she had too many emails and could not keep with every individuals information. I think that this was a violation because the doctor did not take the time to properly care for her patient who was in need. Valerie was also looking for comfort during this difficult time and was not given any sort of respect. Her confidentiality was most certainty violated. It was hard to know what age she was so I predicted either a teenage or a young adult. So, with, no matter
...y is not absolute and that the disclosure and justification of some individuals cases can potentially be successful. Moreover the person who disclosed the information will always be the person under scrutiny of the common law. Professionally, if the health care worker adhere to the policy it offers much protection for the topic of confidentiality and the correct attitude to retain information correctly.
Patient confidentiality is one of the foundations to the medical practice. Patients arrive at hospitals seeking treatment believing that all personal information will remain between themselves and the medical staff. In order to assure patients privacy, confidentiality policies were established. However, a confidentiality policy may be broken only in the case the medical staff believes that the patient is a danger to themselves or to others in society. Thesis Statement: The ethics underlying patient confidentiality is periodically questioned in our society due to circumstances that abruptly occur leaving health professionals to decide between right and wrong.
Disclosure of pertinent medical facts and alternative course of treatment should not be overlooked by the physician in the decision making process. This is very important information impacting whether that patient will go along with the recommended treatment. The right to informed consent did not become a judicial issue ...
Doctor patient confidentiality, is a fundamental element of the practice of medicine. Patients can expect that doctors and their support staff will hold confidential information about them in confidence, unless the release of the information is required by law or for public interest reasons. Ensuring confidentiality is retained allows doctors to examine their patients and receive all relevant information about their condition without a worry of judgement or sharing of the information.
Consequently, it can be assumed that doctors might tend to avoid such a confession in order to maintain their image of being a “good doctor” (J.Shahidi). Not being a good doctor may eventually lead to doctor’s loss of business and as a result physicians may tend to hide the truth even if it opposes patient autonomy
The doctor patient relationship is an important connection. Doctor-patient confidentiality is based on the idea that a person should not care for medical treatment because they fear the state will share with others.