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Medical Record Confidentiality and Genetic Privacy

The document discusses several ethical issues related to electronic medical records and public records being posted online, including privacy and security concerns. For medical records, privacy and confidentiality can be violated if unauthorized people access patient information. Medical staff must implement security measures to protect patient data. The integrity of electronic records can also be compromised if data is copied or transferred incorrectly. Public records posted online can enable identity theft and put sensitive individuals like victims of crimes at risk of harm. Both medical and public records require balancing access with privacy through limitations, security features, and redaction of sensitive details.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
63 views2 pages

Medical Record Confidentiality and Genetic Privacy

The document discusses several ethical issues related to electronic medical records and public records being posted online, including privacy and security concerns. For medical records, privacy and confidentiality can be violated if unauthorized people access patient information. Medical staff must implement security measures to protect patient data. The integrity of electronic records can also be compromised if data is copied or transferred incorrectly. Public records posted online can enable identity theft and put sensitive individuals like victims of crimes at risk of harm. Both medical and public records require balancing access with privacy through limitations, security features, and redaction of sensitive details.
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11.

Medical Record Confidentiality and Genetic Privacy


The medical record is a communication tool that supports clinical decision making, coordination
of services, evaluation of the quality and efficacy of care, research, legal protection, education,
and accreditation and regulatory processes. It is the business record of the health care system,
documented in the normal course of its activities. The documentation must be authenticated
and, if it is handwritten, the entries must be legible.

Back then, the medical records were updated manually, resulting in delays for record
completion that patients rarely viewed their medical records. With the development of the
technology The electronic health record (ERC) can be viewed by many simultaneously and
utilizes a host of information technology tools. Patients routinely review their electronic medical
records and are keeping personal health records.

But there are still some ethical issues being faced by electronic medical records which includes:
privacy and confidentiality, security, and data integrity and availability.

Privacy and confidentiality:


Patient’s privacy and confidentiality are being violated when an unauthorized person has access
to the patient’s information.

Security:
For the patient to trust the clinician, records in the office must be protected. Medical staff must
be aware of the security measures needed to protect their patient data and the data within their
practices.

Integrity and availability:


Features of the electronic health record can allow data integrity to be compromised. Take, for
example, the ability to copy and paste, or “clone,” content easily from one progress note to
another. This practice saves time but is unacceptable because it increases risk for patients and
liability for clinicians and organizations.
In terms of availability, If the system is hacked or becomes overloaded with requests, the
information may become unusable.

Medical practice is increasingly information-intensive. With the continuous advancement of


technology, errors or problems may still occur. That's why creating useful electronic health
record systems will require the expertise of physicians and other clinicians, information
management and technology professionals, ethicists, administrative personnel, and patients.

Reference: https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/electronic-health-records-privacy-
confidentiality-and-security/2012-09

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Public Records on the Internet
A public record refers to information that has been recorded and/or filed by a public agency.
Posting public records on the internet is perceived to be easier for people who are looking for
work.
There are two ways public records are accessible electronically. Some jurisdictions post them
on their government web sites, thereby providing free or low-cost access to records.
Government agencies and courts also sell their public files to commercial data compilers and
information brokers. They in turn make them available on a fee basis, either via web sites or by
special network hookups.
But with the continuous advancement of the technology, privacy of the users are being put at
risk such as identity theft and other types of fraud.

Identity theft:
The crime of identity theft and other types of fraud will be fueled by easy access to personal
identifiers and other personal information via electronic public records. Such information
includes Social Security numbers, credit card and bank account numbers, and details about
investments.

Destruction of reputations:
Individuals will experience shame and embarrassment, even discrimination, when details of
their personal lives are broadcast in court records available on the Internet. The PRC has been
contacted by many individuals who have relayed such experiences.

Personal safety risks:


Victims and witnesses who are named in court records could be put at risk. The personal safety
of victims of domestic violence and stalking, for example, could be jeopardized.

Secondary uses of information:


Data from electronic public records files will be used for secondary purposes that stray far from
the original public policy purposes for which they were first created, that being government
accountability. Compiling public records information from several sources and merging them
with commercial sector data files allows the data to be sifted and sorted in many different ways.

Posting public records for promoting easier access to government services is quiet while
maintaining the individual's privacy is quite impossible. But there are still ways to minimize the
harm like limiting what is posted online, wherein only the needed details should be shown, not
the whole details. For files that contain highly sensitive personal information should have
stronger security. The government should adopt automation systems with redaction features.
And courts must adopt rules that prohibit the most sensitive of court files.

References: https://privacyrights.org/resources/public-records-internet-privacy-dilemma
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