Electronic Health Records and Ethics

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that in today's healthcare environment, many facilities are taking advantage of new technologies and systems to improve client care and make the organization work faster, better and with more efficiency. The writer discusses that one of these new technologies, developed in the last few decades and getting into common use presently, is the use of the electronic health record, or EHR. The EHR is used by many different types of healthcare delivery systems, from hospitals to private practice. The writer maintains that, although this system often makes dealing with patient records more orderly and efficient, some have raised concerns over how the process of keeping these electronic records relates to issues of patient confidentiality and privacy. The writer discusses that in many ways, this is an ethical issue that comes down to the individual using the EHR system. The writer concludes that new technology means new risks, but it can also mean improved opportunities for professionals.

From the Paper:

"This comes from the perspective that a universal ethics is possible and also that it must be based on choice. This pattern of choice must start with the individual; there cannot be a group ethic that is in agreement without individual ethics. The individual healthcare professional is a person who must make choices regarding how to behave. This behavior can be broken down into two categories: the choice as it affects the society around the person making the decision, and the decision as it affects the person making the choice. An individual could make an ethical choice to respect patient confidentiality and keep this in mind when using EHR with passwords and encryption. They could choose whether or not to tell the truth. They can make an ethical distinction between giving and taking. The list goes on and on. Ethics is ultimately seen to be a personal decision that may or may not be effected by an external group or group philosophy."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Conner, V (1999). Patient confidentiality in the electronic age. Journal of the National Intravenous Therapy Association.
• Ford, E, N Menachemi, and T Phillips (2008). Predicting the adoption of electronic health records by physicians. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
• Gallagher, P (2004). Maintain privacy with electronic charting. Nursing Management.
• Jenkins, D (2002). Protecting patient privacy in the age of instant access. Clinical Nurse Specialist.
• Health information technology in the US. (2007). Massachusetts General Hospital/ Robert Johnson Wood Foundation.

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