Applying Ethical Frameworks in Practice
Grand Canyon University: Ethical Decision Making in Healthcare
Lisa Firkus
October 27, 2013

Applying Ethical Frameworks in Practice

Care providers strive to provide care that is patient focused that maintains confidentiality and respect. This paper is about the maintenance of patient confidentiality and the trusting relationships that must be maintained between the patient and the healthcare providers.

Ethical Implications of Breaching Confidentiality
Patients seek care and treatment in hopes of receiving confidential, unbiased, honest, and respectful treatment. They also expect that care providers maintain their personal values and beliefs related to their care. As healthcare providers, everyone has the responsibility to uphold the confidentiality of patients. Patient confidentiality includes information about the patient that is collected based upon what the patient reports and what the physician enters in the medical record. In a situation where confidentiality has been breached, serious implications can arise. A breach in confidentiality can result in a failure to respect patient's autonomy and poses a form of betrayal (Ministry of Ethics, 2012). The betrayal that can result in legal implications such a HIPPA violations but an even greater ramification can be the distrust of the patient and family in the caregiver and the healthcare system. Patients may also question the care provider's true intentions including values and morals. They may also question if the patient is truly the center of care. Breach of confidentiality can result in a non-trusting relationship where the patients overall medical care can be compromised. This can lead to the patient not being open and honest about themselves, their injuries, their living situation, and their overall concerns related to their care. This can lead to poor