Patient Confidentiality for Journal of Medical Internet Research

Question: Discuss about thePatient Confidentiality for Journal of Medical Internet Research. Answer: A doctor accidentally emailed the wrong file to his interns. The intention was to email the next days schedule, but due to fatigue, the doctor emailed a patient whose cancer had reached the final stages and was almost succumbing her. It happened that one of the interns was the son of the patient. The intern committed suicide and left a suicide note of which he complains of learning with great shock that the mother was going to pass away and that he had not been made aware. The doctor was later charged with breach of doctor-patient privilege. He was also convicted of second-class murder. Patient confidentiality is the preservation of trust between a doctor and their patient so that the patients information is kept secret unless there are fundamental reasons to do so. The disclosure of such information to a third party is the breach without the consent of law or the patient. This method was developed by the classical Hippocratic Oath updated for all standards of law, asserted from the declaration of Geneva. (Hulkower, 2016) The oath, therefore, obligates the doctor to maintain the privilege. The duty should be upheld as it is highly professional world over. A breach by a doctor should be punishable by law, either way. An intentional violation has the same effects caused to non-intentional ones. The patient who is affected suffers consequences that are hefty to bear. The results range from psychological, emotional and physical. First, a breach damages the professional relationship of the doctor to the patient. It is doubtful that one would tell their problems who are willing to shout them out. Once a doctor has revealed information to a third party, it is likely that the patient will withdraw from saying any problem, therefore, affecting their overall healing problem. In a case where the breach is made public. The doctor and even the institution he works for are likely to lose public trust. Losing public confidence may lead to the withdrawal of the certificate of performance by the individual. The hospital might lose not only patients but also a license of operation. These are an effect realized by the local community who might as well be affected (Tran, Morra, Lo, Quan, Abrams Wu, 2014) The penalties for breaching should be very grave to warn the doctors. Criminal proceedings are the best penalties compared to compensation. Damages done by the doctors at times cannot be compensated for, i.e., the suicide case noted. Criminal doctors may intentionally breach patient information for exchange of lump sum amounts. In this case, they will have enough finances to compensate the alleged patient. Hopefully, there are no such doctors in the society, but that will disadvantage the patient (Nolan Ackery, 2015). The British research on breeching discovered out that most breeching frequently happens when the doctor is at free of their operation time. At the cafes and canteen when they are having drinks, they form small crowds, and while reflecting on the days hard job, they talk about their patient. Should doctors never go to hospital canteens? The second most popular place is at the computer, faxes or printers. It is common for doctors secretary or even patient to see privileged information especially without passwords and even on printouts. The doctors should be more careful (Ost, S., 2016). For global benefits, breaching at times could be helpful even without the consent of the patient. A doctor can find a professional in another field. The doctor might have seen such a case before. He will probably define a lasting solution to the inquiring doctor. Family members might need particular information for diseases that will require monitoring. Diabetic and asthmatic patients should be managed at all times at home. For this patients, it is very logical to breach information to very close family members even without their consent. Specific infection is likely to cause risk to others (Wong, Lavoie, Browne, MacLeod Chongo, 2015). However much stigma might be created to the patient, revealing such information has to be done. Example of such a disease is Ebola, recorded in parts of Africa. It will cause harm to others. Therefore, it should be breached. However, the breach might be essential. Procedures are crucial, if not in any way, then the doctor has to be implicated. References Hulkower, R. (2016). The history of the Hippocratic Oath: outdated, inauthentic, and yet still relevant.Einstein Journal of Biology and Medicine,25(1), 41-44. Nolan, B., Ackery, A. (2015). Collaborating with police in the emergency department while maintaining patient confidentiality: How can we improve?.Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine,17(4), 437-442. Ost, S. (2016). Breaching The Sexual Boundaries In The Doctorpatient Relationship: Should English Law Recognise Fiduciary Duties?.Medical law review,24(2), 206-233. Tran, K., Morra, D., Lo, V., Quan, S. D., Abrams, H., Wu, R. C. (2014). Medical students and personal smartphones in the clinical environment: the impact on confidentiality of personal health information and professionalism.Journal of medical Internet research,16(5). WHO Ebola Response Team. (2014). Ebola virus disease in West Africathe first 9 months of the epidemic and forward projections.New England Journal of Medicine,371(16), 1481-1495. Wong, S. T., Lavoie, J. G., Browne, A. J., MacLeod, M. L., Chongo, M. (2015). Patient confidentiality within the context of group medical visits: is there cause for concern?.Health Expectations,18(5), 727-739.