The incident described is a crisis that has hit the management of the hospital after realizing that one of their orthopedic surgeons might have contracted HIV/AIDS hence putting the patients at a special risk. This follows a revelation made by the surgeon's wife, who is on the verge of suing her husband for divorcing her after the infection with the disease. Therefore, the question that arises from the situation that seeks redress is as to whether surgeons who are infected with HIV are allowed to operate on patients. In solving the crisis, it is important for the management to keep in mind the possibility of the patient being infected by the disease, and if it is possible for the patient to reject a surgeon known to be HIV positive.
In most countries, the citizens, including medical practitioners enjoy the rights of privacy and confidentiality regarding their health issues ( Gostin & Wiley, 2016). The situation is even complicated because the hospital management, headed by Carolyn Aubrey would be accused of breaching the privacy rights of Dr. Midimore by revealing his HIV status in the called meeting. The prospect of revealing his HIV/AIDS status would lead to discrimination against the doctor hence leading to stigmatization.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
However, the rights of the patient who is now at a higher risk of contracting the disease must also be protected. The applicable laws have defined a situation where individuals, especially health workers are required to disclose their HIV status. One of these circumstances is when the disclosure is vital to the public interest or for the benefit of treating a patient. Since the doctor is involved in a risky medical procedure that potentially puts the patients under the danger of infection, it is imperative that the doctor discloses his HIV status due to the fact that he is involved in direct treatment. Therefore, the management will be obliged to ask the doctor to undergo an HIV treatment respecting his privacy and confidentiality rights. However, his results will be of great public interest due to his direct involvement with the patient in a rather risky procedure and therefore would be required to disclose if he is HIV positive.
References
Gostin, L. O., & Wiley, L. F. (2016). Public health law: power, duty, restraint . Univ of California Press.
