Ethical Issues In Medical Records

Words: 1036
Pages: 5
Open Document
victim of the attacks to have much larger issues than just their records being stolen. It has the potential to ruin their life or make things extremely difficult for them. Information that is within a medical facility patient’s records holds so much more value than just what has been done on them medically. Robert Hackett writes that, “Healthcare, a highly-regulated industry that trades in some of the most intimate personal information—which can include patient names, medical histories, credit card data, and Social Security numbers—has the highest cost per stolen record at $355” (Hackett). A single file is $355, but that adds up drastically when thousands upon thousands of records are taken. This does not just happen to big name hospitals and …show more content…
Ed Cabrera writes that, “The health care industry also has traditionally been behind the cybersecurity curve and focused on meeting compliance laws — electing to focus resources on patient care rather than taking the extra steps for implementing enterprise risk management strategies focused on proactive prevention and protection measures” (27 Cabrera). In his article Cabrera states that medical industries would rather focus on patient care in the physical sense rather than in the cyber space. A patient’s well-being does not just exist in the room that they are being treated physically in, it also lies in their information that the medical industries are failing to protect. Their personal information is being stolen due to the medical industry, ignoring the fact that they now have to pay attention to not only people physically trying to obtain their informational records, but now also electronically over in cyber space. Obtaining information over cyber space is more convenient and easier if there are not firmly established layers of security in the network. Steve Morgan writes that, “Healthcare has been at or near the top of the list for industries at greatest risk of cyber intrusions over the past two years” (Morgan). In regard to the health care being near the top of the list, one would assume that there is being something done to decrease the placement …show more content…
Ransomware is defined by Davis, as “a type of malicious software that basically lets an attacker hold a computer hostage” (Davis). During the time that a network is taken hostage, a hacker then has the ability to go through the content of the network, along with corrupting it, copying it, erasing it, or even tampering with the other pieces of vital equipment that is connected to that specific network. The idea of tampering with the equipment is extremely dangerous for the facilities and the patients. most things are running off of electronic devices, so if one of those is compromised then things can go bad. If those medical devices get into the wrong hands lives could be lost and not just money. Davis goes on to say in his article that, “A hacked pacemaker or drug pump could have ability to control their systems, as the potentially life-threatening consequences for patients, and even other types of networked devices could end up helping a cybercriminal find a surreptitious way to get access to a hospital’s computer systems” (Davis). Thinking on the matter, when someone goes to a hospital visit they are tested on a variety of different machines. If one of those machines were to be hacked or shut down, then lifesaving procedures, drug administration, or breathing machines would not be able to help in the way that they were designed to do. Ransomware completely locks down the ability to
Show More

Related Documents: Ethical Issues In Medical Records

Abortion And Privacy Rights Paper Week

as stated in On the Issues Magazine (winter, 2012) is not only an ethical decision, but it may effect the decision-making process in the use of electronic health records. When a young woman seeks an abortion that information is held in her medical records. If electronic records are shared by all of the patient’s doctors and administrators, a privacy issue and ethical dilemma may be created. Within this paper, an ethical dilemma concerning abortion and electronic medical records, and specifically…

Words 1308 - Pages 6

Ethical Healthcare Issues Essay

Running Head: ETHICAL HEALTHCARE Ethical Healthcare Issues Paper Wanda Douglas Health Law and Ethics/HCS 545 October 17, 2011 Nancy Moody Ethical Healthcare Issues Paper In today’s health care industry providing quality patient care and avoiding harm are the foundations of ethical practices. However, many health care professionals are not meeting the guidelines or expectations of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) or obeying the organizations code of ethics policies…

Words 1191 - Pages 5

Case Study Approaches to Ethical Dilemas Essay

Case Study Approaches to Ethical Dilemmas LaDonna Landry BSHS 335 January 12, 2015 Nicole Zmuda Case Study Approaches to Ethical Dilemmas The case study I chose is that of six-year-old Tavion Robinson who was taken to Methodist Hospital by his father for a broken arm and abrasions. There were a couple of things in this case that could insinuate that the broken arm and abrasions were not an accident. The father being hesitant to leave Tavion alone with hospital staff was the first red…

Words 1154 - Pages 5

Greynolds Vs. Kurman Case Summary

study, I will evaluate and present my reflection. I will delve into the best practices my organizations would put into place to deter liability in a similar situation. I will also delve into ethical issues that would take place. And lastly, I would incorporate how scripture would be correlated into these issues. In the case study of Greynolds v. Kurman, we see that Mr. Greynolds had endured a transient ischemic attack; this incident then lead to a trouncing of neurological functioning (Pozgar, 2015)…

Words 830 - Pages 4

Ethical Issues In Health Care

Narrative: I selected this topic because patient healthcare records have always been considered extremely sensitive in nature and due to the delicate nature of patient healthcare data it has been widely kept from mobile based platforms and interconnected computerized systems. This potentially could have negative effects on healthcare professionals ethically and healthcare professionals are charged with safeguarding that data. Introducing patient data with vulnerable information technology systems…

Words 862 - Pages 4

Administrative Ethics Essay

serious issues that can come from violating a patient privacy. Back in the early 19th century, there was not a law that protected the patients’ privacy are rights. When President Bill Clinton was in the office he created the “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and it included fraud and abuse control, health insurance portability, and group health plan requirements (Physicians Billing Associates International 2006). This was created only to help protect patients’ medical records…

Words 1194 - Pages 5

Administrative Ethicshcs335 Essays

discuss patient privacy and the population it affects the most. Along with ethical and legal issues dealing with breaches of patients records and explain managerial responsibilities related to patient privacy. Identify any proposed solutions. The issue is patient privacy” previous regulations had required a practice to notify affected patients and the federal government only if it determined that a breach involving patient records had occurred and that it carried a significant risk of financial or reputational…

Words 1214 - Pages 5

A Minor Confidential Essay

A Minor Confidentiality Issue Jessica Robinson BSHS/335 March 9, 2015 Mary Ann Little A Minor Confidentiality Issue Working in the human service and healthcare profession, over the course of time one comes across cases that places them in ethical dilemmas. When the dilemma involves a child the decision is critical. Many different factors comes into play and when the parents aren’t together that only enhances the situation. Confidentiality is key in this expertise of profession, however, when is…

Words 1150 - Pages 5

The Impact Of The Patriot Act

Information Technology Acts The act that first comes to mind when thinking about the advances in information technology that resulted in ethical issues would be the Patriot Act,2001, renewed 2006. The patriot Act opened so many door in the technology field that legally were not allowed to be opened in the first place. Shortly after 9/11 happened the Patriot Act came into affect and it stripped citizens of their privacy. The act allowed the government to put camera up at every traffic light…

Words 765 - Pages 4

Ethical and Legal Concerns for Emergency Room Physicians Essay

There are unique ethical and legal obligations of the Emergency Room Physician. Commonly faced issues include patient “dumping”, organ donation, and Do-Not Resuscitate orders. These issues have ethical and legal considerations for the Emergency Room Physician in regards to their responsibilities and actions. The ethical right for individuals to have access to health care already has a form of legal binding within the United States as seen in the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act…

Words 1165 - Pages 5