There are many issues that arise when the patient privacy is concerned. In August of 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) were passed into law (Van der Aa, 2000). The law is intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system by standardizing how to exchange data for specific administrative and financial transactions, while protecting the security and confidentiality of that information (Van der Aa, 2000). The areas addressed for HIPPA are:
• Concerns that disclosure of patient medical records could result in embarrassment, insurance declination, loss of employment, or failure to be hired in a new job;
• Increasing costs of data exchange in an incompatible and often competing standards environment to exchange administrative and financial data;
• Implement processes and systems to reduce fraud
(Van der Aa, 2000). HIPPA was signed into law, to help create a standard that will protect patient’s medical records and personal health records. This act is to help the health care employees have more control of a patient’s information and its privacy. This act also gives the patient the right to control their own information. Apart from the right to inspect, amend and correct their confidential health information, patients now have the right to control what information can be released and to whom (Van der Aa, 2000). The following case study is an opportunity to review ethical issues relative to confidentiality. This case study is a backdrop for the ethical analysis of issues by an administrator related to disclosing confidential information concerning an employee. An administrator has responsibilities that extend beyond patient medical information. The growth of information systems make one ethical concern that continually presents itself to the administrator is confidentiality of information, regardless if