Ethics, this is a term that (arguably) many healthcare professionals are familiar with. Continuing, it’s incredibly important to recognize the importance behind having a standard of ethics. In the nursing profession, the goal is to always look for ways to improve patient outcomes; and, according to an article published by Tulane University, “The healthcare profession requires a strong ethical framework to guide decisions about patient care. Healthcare practitioners who are equipped to address ethical considerations can make compassionate, fair, and effective choices for their patient’s treatment.” (Tulane.edu, 2023) So, as one can see, their is great significance in having a code of ethics in any professional organization. Now, this begs the questions, what are the professional responsibilities for ethical use of health care informatics technology? The, “Healthcare profession requires a strong ethical framework to guide decisions about patient care. Healthcare practitioners who are equipped to address ethical considerations can make compassionate, fair, and effective choices for their patient’s treatment.” (ahima.org, 2024)
Ethical challenges present themselves consistently in healthcare, and, in this case scenario, failed to protect their patient’s PHI by leaving the patients EHR openly displayed for anyone to view. According to the ethical principles outlined by the AHIMA, principle number one stipulates to, “Advocate, uphold, and defend the consumer’s right to privacy and the doctrine of confidentiality in the use and disclosure of information.” (ahima.org, 2024) I believe that what I would do differently, is I would slow down. Often times, we (as nurses) are insanely busy during our shift. As such, it’s important to be mindful that when we rush to accomplish a task, it invites the opportunity for mistakes to happen. So, I would have made sure to log out of the patients chart, prior to leaving the desk. In my opinion, as a preceptor, that’s what you need to be watching out for. Silently standing by, to look out for the safety and well being of the patient as well as supporting the staff member by allowing them the opportunity to fix their mistake so as to not repeat it again in the future.
ahima.org (Ed.). (2024). AHIMA Code of Ethics. The American Health Information Management Association. https://bok.ahima.org/topics/industry-resources/code-of-ethics/
Tulane.edu (Ed.). (2023). Ethics in Health Care: Improving Patient Outcomes. Tulane University School Of Public Health And Tropical Medicine. https://publichealth.tulane.edu/blog/ethics-in-healthcare/