Ethics

The Provider-Patient Relationship involves the practices of protecting patients privacy and maintaining patients confidentiality. There are some ethical obligations as well as legal obligations that are required to be regulated by healthcare providers with respect to patient rights.

Patient Privacy and Confidentiality
Organizations, professionals and individuals that use and collect patients personal information in any capacity are obligated to protect patient privacy and confidentiality. HIPAA has mandated regulatory and stringent legal obligations through which the significance of protecting patients privacy and confidentiality could be realized. Even such legal regulations and obligations already exist in other healthcare providers privacy legislation. The protection of patients privacy and confidentiality has become a challenge due to whichconsumers get interested only towards those healthcare providers who are obligated to protect their private information and maintain confidentiality at all levels (Klosek 2007).

Protecting Patient Privacy
The following recommendations will help organizations, professionals and individuals to protect patients privacy more effectively

Conducting Internal Audit Before providing the useful information to patients, the practices and privacy policies must be understood by the organizations itself. The right way of analyzing all information is to conduct an internal audit which will include the identification of collected data, usage of data, sharing of data and the way of protecting data. Upon completion of initial audit, compliance audit should too be conducted on quarterly basis in order to regulate laws, policies and procedures for smooth compliance.
Development of Privacy Policy After mandating and regulating laws, policies and procedures through internal audit, the communication and development of internal and external policies should be implemented. In case of covered entities, the protected health information and patient privacy must be clearly stated in the providers policies and practices. Patients must be furnished with the policies of authorization, consent, rights and disclosure and all such policies must reflect the HIPAA regulations. In addition to perception of policies, it is mandatory for an organization to complythe same procedures and laws that are initially provided to the patients.

Preparation for Inevitable It is necessary to anticipate and perceive the unpredicted possibilities which may arise from the governments need for patient information. For fulfilling such legal requirements, some policies should be implemented andthe patients consent must too be sought thereon which will avoid inconvenience for an organization that may arise from patients complaint regarding disclosure of privacy policies.

Investment in Security The patient information can be secured through the protection of privacy of information. For this purpose, the administrative, technical and procedural safeguards must be integrated in the entire privacy strategy. All requirements of HIPAA should be covered under the security program. Additionally, the security vulnerabilities should too be covered through the installation of required measurements in order to protect patients data confidentially.

Training Training isa most essential aspect which cannot be ignored. The breaches of damaging data have occurred due to employees errors because of their non-perception. The patient privacy and security can be protected through a comprehensive, consistent and expertise training which should be conducted regularly. The routine training basically involves the review and revision of organizational external and internal practices and policies. Hence,the protection of patient privacy data has become a challenge which is likely toincrease ahead too (Klosek 2007).

Maintaining Patient Confidentiality
Patient confidentialityrefers to securing the personal informationof a patient and restrictingaccess to such information from others without prior consentfrom patient. The patient confidentiality too requires patients authorization for disclosure of health information to supervisor or to other counselors. A patients confidentiality could be breached incase of health discussionwithrespective to patients safety but, it is the obligation of counseling professional to inform the patient and seek his intention regarding such disclosure. Whatever the situation may be, a psychotherapist is required to minimize the harmful health effects that are likely to cause a patient. Additionally, institutional laws and ethics must too be complied thereon.

The healthcare providers can maintain patients confidentiality in the light of criminal acts as follows
Drugs Usage by Patients Some patients are adhered to severe drugs which are prohibited under the general laws. Many healthcare providers hide such illegal activities from law-enforcing officers in order to make these patients as their regular clients. The reasons for diseases occur due to continuous usage of drugs by patients which confronts them with a situation to get treatment which may be life-threatening and the same can too be risky for a doctor doing the treatment without informing the legal authorities.

Gun-Shot Patients Some patients are admitted to hospital in the emergency department for immediate treatment due to facing gun-shots. These people are basically criminals who intend robberies, crimes and relate to different chains of gangsters. It is the responsibility of a healthcare provider to inform such occurrence to the legal authorities immediately but some of the healthcare providers hide such information from police and law-enforcement authorities which is, indeed, an unethical act of maintaining confidentiality in the light of criminal activities performed by patients.

Criminal Abortions It is quite an unethical practice in healthcare services which is maintained confidential by some healthcare providers. The criminals involve in rape cases with innocent girls and force them to get abortion upon getting pregnancy condition and use them as a source for getting illegal money. The doctors actions involved in hiding such information are referred as maintaining confidentiality in the light of criminal acts by patients.

Death of Patients Some patients suffer severe conditions due to failing to comply over the doctors instructions and continue to practice the prohibited actions such as usage of drugs, alcohol, syringes, etc. and eventually die. These patients generally violate the code of ethics and thus, the healthcare providers hiding such information are liable to abuse the medical ethics and confidentiality in this way, is termed to be privilege towards criminal activities by patients.

Insurance Coverage Many patients are involved in cheating their healthcare insurance providers by claiming financial obligation such as money. Although, doctors do have perception of such involvements and are obligated to inform the same to insurance providers but, in order to make these patients regular, some healthcare providers hide this information and maintain confidentiality in favor of patients which eventually, hides the crime as well.

Ethical Obligations
The confidentiality of patient information comes under the obligation of healthcare providers. It is implicit and shouldnever be articulated prior to treatment received by patient. The act of maintaining confidentiality represents providers obligation towards patients respect, builds patients trust which also increases public confidence and good relationships with providers. Trust is a leading aspect in the treatment which enables patients to disclose their health secrets that are essentially useful for proper diagnosis (McNaughton et al. 2006).

Legal Obligations
The Salvadoran Government is indulged in the elimination of all sorts of violation against international covenant on human rights and political  civil rights treaties which creates a hindrance in the protection of confidentiality and secrecyin healthcare services such as post-abortion. The conditions for professional secrecy in the Ethics Code, has been provided by the Salvadoran penal and health codes through which a provider is penalized with the suspension of medical license incase of violation of patients confidentiality that is too followed by imprisonment up to two years (McNaughton et al. 2006).