Ethical Dilemmas On Patient Privacy And Confidentiality

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It is the obligation of healthcare practitioners to preserve patient privacy and confidentiality at all times. However, healthcare practitioners face diverse types and levels of privacy- and confidentiality-associated ethical dilemmas while dealing with specific types of patients. One such special case that presents ethical dilemmas on patient privacy and confidentiality is when a physician handles a criminal patient (Gardiner, 2003). The scenario becomes more complicated if it involves giving an emergency care to a patient who has been involved in a criminal act such as robbery, during which he or she has been shot or injured in some other ways. It is of the essence that physicians and other healthcare providers are conversant with the work standards and regulation pertaining to dealing with such patients, aiding their decision-making processes (Gardiner, 2003).

In many instances, doctors and nurses are more inclined to inform the law enforcement agencies whenever they encounter criminal patients and other cases that warrant that authorities be alerted. It is generally recommended that a combination of broad knowledge of ethical, legal, and professional obligations and their intuition to make the right decision (Pauls et al., 2004). In addition to criminal patients, physicians have to contend with patients that refuse to participate in the …show more content…

For instance, a patient may be examined, only to reveal signs of past and recent IV drug use among other incriminating acts (Pauls et al., 2004). It presents the examining physician with myriad legal, ethical, and professional dilemmas on how to deal with such a patient. In another case, a patient may visit a physician with a wound that was suffered during a criminal act or, a robbery survivor with a gunshot wound may enter a health facility seeking the lodged bullet removed and his wounds sealed (Pauls et al.,

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