Healthcare workers are guided by a maxim that says that they should do no harm. The doctrine insists that healthcare professionals must strive to provide the patients with the best care they can manage. However, it has been difficult to uphold this maxim because healthcare costs have risen, and professional issues put the healthcare practitioners in a conflict of interest (Danis et al., 2020). For instance, terminally ill patients require deeper contact with physicians, impeding professional boundaries between patients and physicians.
Healthcare professionals are expected to ensure that patient confidentiality remains unbroken. Patient data and history should be kept under lock, and a patient's information must never get out of the hospital. Despite patient doctor's secrecy is an ethical issue, breaking such privacy leads to legal action against the hospital and the physician involved. The hospital also has a duty to disclose medical errors during healthcare provision (Danis et al., 2020). This duty is owed to the patient because they have trusted the healthcare provider to promote their health. Withholding such errors not only taint the patient-physician relationship but also expose the hospital to litigation.
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Moreover, doctors must seek informed consent before operating or providing medication to patients. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) guidelines spell out the correct channels under which hospitals should seek the patient's consent. According to the act, hospitals and other healthcare providers are bound to ensure that sensitive patient records, medical bills, immunizations charts, and history are available upon request. It is litigious for hospitals to delay replicating patient information if the patient needs it. The act also spells out unique instances where consent is transferred to the next of kin if the patient is in a coma or temporarily disabled (Zakany, 2019). However, under such circumstances, healthcare providers are still expected to report to the patient upon recovery. HIPPA laws protect the provider from litigation if the patient feels the decision was not right for him. The transference of consent under HIPPA absolves the healthcare provider from blame. Therefore, as healthcare practitioners are expected to uphold patient-related ethics, they must also be protected from the repercussions of doing their jobs.
References
Danis, M., Povar, G., Cho, H. L., Grady, C., Tarzian, A., & Mangal, J. (2020). Broadening the Scope of Health Care Ethics Consultation: A Response to Open Peer Commentaries on Patient and Family Description of Ethical Concerns. The American Journal of Bioethics , 20 (6), W6-W8.
Zákány, J. (2019). Rights of Patients and Possibilities of Legal Protection in the Area of Healthcare Services in Hungary.
