Confidentiality: An Essential Element of Professionalism

Abstract

W683 words, should uphold a principle of discretion in all dealings with others, even in private life. Such discretion should constitute an integral part of a physician’s character, not just a pose physicians adopt when they don their white coats each morning. More recently, the principle of confidentiality has received considerable attention in connection with the HIPAA of 1996 [3]. Title II of this legislation includes the Privacy Rule, which establishes regulations for the use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI), which includes information about health status, health care, or payment for health care that can be linked to a specific person through name, medical record number, social security number, address, telephone number, and so on. Concerns in these areas are heightened in the era of electronic medical records, which make PHI more widely accessible [4]. According to HIPAA, health professionals and health care organizations may disclose PHI only if they have obtained prior authorization from the individual concerned. They must document their privacy policies and procedures and keep track of such disclosures. In addition, they must train the members of their workforce in the policies and procedures concerning PHI. Suspected breaches in the protection of PHI are to be reported to the local privacy official and ultimately to the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services. Recently, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) agreed to a settlement of $865,000 in a case involving repeated violations of PHI by unauthorized employees [5]. Confidentiality: An Essential Element of Professionalism