Computer Ethics in the Health Field

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews excerpts of a letter sent to Mike Leavitt, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, on behalf of organizations participating in the Consumer Coalition for Health Privacy. The letter concerns a lost, or perhaps stolen, laptop computer. The paper discusses compromised health information as a result of storing this information in an information technology medium. The paper goes on to discuss how problems are arising in the health industry as a result of information technology that may cause a breach in ethical protocols and undermine the confidence of patients in the health profession.

From the Paper:

"In the same manner trust is structured in the form of policies, information assets - especially medical information - must be guided by policies that determine storage, archiving and access. Medical records in paper based forms are becoming extinct and being replace by digitally stored data. Further, some medical files and records are stored on cards with smart chips carried by patients on their persons that in the event of emergencies, health professionals attending to the ailing patient can easily load the smart card in a reading device and have instant access to the patient's medical history. The digitally stored medical information nowadays are also available online - a doctor in Cincinnati can access (provided authority is given that doctor) a patient's medical record in a database in Seattle or a hospital in Kansas can schedule a San Francisco patient for medical procedures once they get access from the patient's San Francisco medical records."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Department of Health and Human Services. (2003, April 17). Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information Regulation Text; Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic Protected Health Information; General Administrative Requirements Including, Civil Money Penalties: Procedures for Investigations, Imposition of Penalties, and Hearings. Retrieved November 1, 2001, from Department of Health and Human Services database.
• Gordon, Lawrence A., Loeb, Martin P., Lucyshyn, William and Richardson, Robert. (2006, July 22). 11th Annual CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey. Retrieved 20 October 2006 from the Website: http://i.cmpnet.com/gocsi/db_area/pdfs/fbi/FBI2006.pdf
• Government Accountability Office. (2006, February). "Information security: Department of Health and Human Services needs to fully implement its program." Report to the Chairman, Committee on Finance, U.S. Senate. Retrieved November 1, 2001, from http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06267.pdf
• Guel, Michele D. (2001). "A short primer for developing security policies." The SANS policy primer. Retrieved November 1, 2001, from The SANS Institute database.
• ISO/IEC (2005). Information technology - security techniques - code of practice for information security management (ISO/IEC 17799:2005). Geneva, Switzerland: ISO Copyright Office.

More papers on Computer Ethics in the Health Field:

• Analytical Essay # 146083 : "Ethics in the Corporate Field"
• Essay # 42960 : "Ethics in the World of Computers"
• Essay # 71926 : "Ethics in the Investment Industry"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: