Telehealth Ethical Considerations

I chose "Ethical Consideration in Internet Use of ePHI"

Sometimes good intentions can prove to be a barrier for people to share their health care needs, because unexpected consequences can occur. For instance, should you share protective health information with another health care professional that might cause a patient’s homelessness, or nursing home placement? This nurse experienced this once when reporting dilapidated conditions in someone’s home, it almost contributed to their homelessness, and separation of their family. Is it ethical to disclose information about disadvantaged families that are just down on their luck? How much information should be shared? The information gathered by a community nurse should be shared, but how much

One initiative to take is to create trust. In a (2001) article, Polito notes “The use of telehealth should not adversely affect the relationship between the patient and the HCP, which should be characterized by trust and respect.” Often information that we disclose does have unexpected consequences, and creates several barriers to trust. Explaining what the privacy rules mean, and how it affects the patient, or what can be disclosed and what cannot, can create a bridge for trust for the HCP. It is important to note that how protective health information is used, will be part of the ethical decision-making process that nurses struggle with from day to day. Cautioning patients about use of the internet is another aspect of the ethic-decision making process of nurses. People need educating and nurses are the primary instructors that lead in the health care system, even if it means partnering with the

It behooves me to write a policy on the proper use of the internet in healthcare, and to reach out to the patients to see what internet sites that they use for reading about their health and illnesses. It is also this nurse’s intention to review our current policy on HIPAA until there is a clear understanding of what involves violation and what does not. I agree with (Alexander et al 2015). “Healthcare providers must be knowledgeable of their own facility’s policies, and procedures regarding privacy and security.” All this will require more effort on the nurses part and, this will take a lot of paper time, but it will be well worth it because our commitment is to our