In reviewing approaches to ethical dilemmas, we were asked to pick a case study and discuss the ethical issues at hand and the approach that we personally would take. I chose case number fifteen. The following paragraph is an introduction to the case. Shandra was a senior in her final semester of the health information Management (HIM).
She was just beginning her final course, as well as her Professional Practice Experience. Shandra was engaged to Andre, the Assistant Director of Respiratory Therapy at St. James Medical Center. Andre’s boss, Henri Pioche, the Director of Respiratory Therapy, had been rumored to be in bad health. Shandra had a 4.00 grade point average. She had high hopes of becoming a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance specialist after graduation (a newly created position being created at St. James Medical Center, the only hospital in the area).
Her Professional Practice Experience was going to be at St. James Medical Center. On the first day of orientation, Shandra was required to sign a confidentiality agreement, since her Professional Practice Experience would put her in a position of being in direct contact with very personal and private information.
Shandra was doing very well in her Professional Practice Experience Program, completing all the tasks put before her with ease. As Shandra settled into her program, she began taking lunches with her fiancé and his co-workers. Shandra heard the rumors that Henri Pioche, Andre’s boss was sick. One day, Shandra and Andre were alone on a break; Shandra asked Andre if the rumors were true. Andre wanted to advance into his boss’s position, should he indeed be sick. Andre, without directly asking Shandra to violate HIPPA laws, expressed how much he would like to find out if the rumor was true. Shandra, having access to all the hospital/patient information, accessed Henri Pioche records and found that he was in fact sick, that he had recently had several very serious diagnostic tests run. Shandra shared that information with Andre. Andre approached Henri Pioche, his boss with the rumor and told him he wanted to be of assistance and would be honored to take on more responsibility. Andre went as far and say he would happy to step in as Interim Director should Henri Pioche need to take an extended leave of absence. Henri Pioche was not ready to share any information about his illness and was outraged that somehow someone had gotten his private information.
The Review on Electronic Literature as an Information System
ABSTRACT Electronic literature is a term that encompasses artistic texts produced for printed media which are consumed in electronic format, as well as text produced for electronic media that could not be printed without losing essential qualities. Some have argued that the essence of electronic literature is the use of multimedia, fragmentation, and/or non-linearity. Others focus on the role of ...
Henri Pioche called the Information Manager and a computer log was run to see who had accessed his information. Being familiar with these computer logs through school, Shandra knew she had been caught. When confronted, Shandra admitted what she had done. Shandra’s actions could diminish potential for employment in any position at St. James Medical Center for several reasons. Firstly, she signed a confidentiality agreement and defaulted on that contract. Secondly, she violated HIPAA laws. Both are grounds for legal action and immediate termination in any healthcare setting. I am not certain Shandra could ever restore any chance of being hired by St. James Medical Center, in any capacity where she would be in direct contact with privileged information. The hospital would be even more liable since they would have advanced knowledge that Shandra had violated policy before, should she do it again, the hospital would face huge liability. Shandra should never be considered for the position of HIPAA compliance specialist after graduation because she has proven she does not have the fortitude to abide by HIPPA and hospital policy. It is a matter of character. Shandra, after violating both the HIPPA policies and the confidentiality agreement, should not be allowed to pass her Professional Practice Experience.
The Term Paper on Consensual Relationship Agreement
Abstract As companies begin to acknowledge the existence of work place romances, the use of consensual relationship agreements (CRAs) has become an area of discussion. While many of today’s organizations prohibit the romantic involvement of its employees with one another, there are other companies that have adopted the use of consensual relationship agreements. Although employers find the CRAs an ...
She should have to repeat it at another facility. Although St. James Medical Center has always had an excellent relationship with the University in regards to hosting students and interns, this isolated incident will at the very least, make the hospital weary of the University’s program and the students and intern that they allow in their facility, if not cause the hospital to terminate the relationship all together. The University will go along way in keeping the relationship if they present the hospital with a new and improved orientation to their Professional Practice Experience Program. This new orientation should emphasize Confidentiality Agreements and HIPAA policies. The internal and external forces that impact this case are multi-layered.
Internally, we have the disregard for compliance of the confidentiality agreement and the blatant disregard for the HIPPA Act, the very same Act that most of Shandra’s schooling was based upon and the very Act that brought forth the position she was so interested in obtaining. The external forces are the University’s relationship with the hospital and the relationship with the fiancé. The legal issues addressed in this case are the violation of the HIPPA Act and the default on the confidentiality agreement signed by Shandra the first day of orientation. All and all, as harsh as it may seem, to take away any chance Shandra has at working at the hospital, and to fail her in her Professional Experience Program at the University and prolong her time to graduation, there really is no other method of handling the case of Shandra and the HIPPA violation. Shandra, although young, spent four years learning about information management in the healthcare industry, and with one small push from her fiancé, Shandra violated some of the most important ethical standard she had been taught. She compromised her self and put her self in a position of distrust. Shandra should have to face all the consequences of her actions. If she is let off the hook, because she is a student, there will come a time and place where she does this again, and at that point the damage could be even greater.
The Essay on West Coast University Case
By looking at the two charts, we can infer that if there are 13 patients coming into the PCC on Monday and there are only 3 clinicians available to see them then they will only be able to process 7. 2 patients (2. 4 patients*3 clinicians) within the first hour which will make the line and wait time longer for every consecutive hour. The following chart shows where there is overutilization of ...
References
Grebner, L. A. (2009).
Ethics case studies for health information management. Clifton Park, NY: Cengage.
