How Personal Conduct can be considered Unprofessional orĀ Unethical or violate HIPAA

How Personal Conduct can be considered Unprofessional or Unethical or violate HIPAA

Federal law defines and reinforces privacy through the HIPAA. This legislation requires medical professionals to protect patient confidentiality and privacy. It defines individually identifiable information and explicates how this critical information might be used, the circumstances under which it may be used, and by whom. Individually identifiable information consists of any info relating to the present, future, or past mental or physical health of an individual (HIPAA Journal, 2018). It also includes information that may result in the identification of an individual. Sharing such information is unethical and unprofessional under the HIPAA.

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NRS 451 Assignment Professionalism

An example of a violation of confidentiality through the use of social media is a nurse who comments on WhatsApp about a patient she has helped. In the context of a WhatsApp Group, the nurse and patient, who are members, may end up communicating information. The patient may say that she is feeling better after visiting the clinic, which the nurse may say that the morphine she provided will help her recover. While the nurse may not have any ill intention, she has already shared details of the patient’s medication on social media. This violates the patient’s right to confidentiality and privacy. Such conduct may lead to the nurse being reported to a board of nursing or in the media.

Areas of my Social Media Activity that reflect Christian Values

Respecting human dignity and value for all individuals is part of Christian teachings. In my social media activity, the Christian values reflected are friendship and joy. Joy is the emotion of happiness derived from a relationship with God and his people. In the case of my social media post with a patient’s photo, I was celebrating a friend who also happened to be my patient. I was showing the world that friendship is critical for every Christian. I implied that it feels great to spend time with a friend whose location, incidentally, was shared by GPS technology.

Areas of Improvement in Social Media Activity

            It is necessary to improve in certain areas of social media use. First, I will stop sharing information about my personal life or opinions. Rather, I will share critical healthcare information that can help the public live healthier lives. I will stop posting any information or image about my patients. Finally, I will not post any information about my employer or workplace.

NRS 451 Assignment Professionalism

References

Epstein, B., & Turner, M. (2015). The Nursing Code of Ethics: Its Value, Its History. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 1. DOI: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol20No02Man04

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