Good Critical Thinking About Ethics Discussion Board

Goodman Thread

Goodman discussed the relationship between ethics in information technology and public health. Healthcare always experiences problems balancing between the duties of clinicians and demonstrating good ethics to the public. According to Goodman (2010), clinicians are responsible for the health and wellbeing of people in the community while the community depends on clinicians for survival. Both parties must demonstrate love and respect for one another in order to overcome daily challenges involving clinician-patient relationship. On the other hand, modern technology is evolving rapidly where traditional methods of health care delivery are being overtaken by current electronic health record practices made possible health information system. In the present conventional healthcare, the community is more concerned about the confidentiality and consent associated with healthcare delivery. Legal and ethical issues have taken the center stage as the community gives healthcare professionals more responsibilities and liabilities (Sarhan, 2009). Goodman claimed that technology introduced fast and efficient method of collecting and analyzing patient’s data with minimal errors. On the other hand, the issue of data security challenges the current health information security with frequent instances of cyber theft insecurity. In order to ensure data security and efficient surveillance using health information technology, Goodman recommends the health sector to promote evidence-based practice.
Evidence-based practice faces a lot of criticism from the public, but it forms the best approach to minimize challenges to data security stored in electronic health records. On the other hand, the article points out major areas that introduce challenges to the current health information technology. According to Goodman (2010), clinicians lack professional education, lack of adherence to duties in collecting patient data, and poor clinician-patient relationships. Adequate training is essential for healthcare professionals to make them understand how to utilize technological equipment that replace traditional equipment. According to Sarhan (2009), healthcare training should the number one priority in public health to help raise awareness and expand the scope of health information technology.
On the other hand, the Goodman describes the duties of a clinician when collecting and sharing patient data. Clinicians have access to patient data at all times and may have higher temptations to disclose them to third parties. Public health through the expertise of information technologists has established more secure ways of ensuring third parties have limited access to patient data. Community members are always reluctant to provide their personal information to clinicians for fear of disclosure. However, health professionals need patient’s personal information for quality medical care. In this respect, the National Initiative for Public Health Technology Infrastructure (NIPHTI) work together with public health officials to store patients’ data in large national databases. The initiative makes it easier for clinicians to retrieve patient’s information upon approval by the patient. Ethics and legal procedures must follow while acquiring personal information from the database. The community is assured of safety and privacy of their information while in the database (Goodman, 2010).
Doctors of Nursing Practice (DNP) have a lot to learn from Goodman’s analysis of ethics in health information. Firstly, DNP has the role of ensuring they put patient’s needs first and practice acceptable and ethical values. The electronic health record process exposes patient’s information to many unwanted users. The DNP should avoid accessing patient’s information without their consent because it is illegal and unethical according to clinical regulations. The government and health officials should develop effective healthcare policies, strategies, and procedure that encourage the use of HIT by clinicians (Sarhan, 2009). Additionally, the public needs a lot of awareness to enable them understand the importance of adapting new changes for quick and efficient medical delivery.

Howard Thread

The healthcare sector concentrates on studying complex disorders developed from the interaction of different genes and environmental factors. In order to understand the interaction between these genes, health experts implemented a genome project that took place between 1989 and 2003 aiming at advancing technologies in bioinformatics. The Howard thread analyzes the ethics of introducing Genome-Based information and technologies into public health. The issue of public health genomics is as serious as the issue of data security in health information technology. The advancement in genome bioinformatics introduces various social and ethical issues highlighted using five principles. One of the five principles discussed by Howard et al. (2013) focuses on respect for autonomy. Does the healthcare respect the autonomy of individuals and patients involved in Genome practices? The following question assists in determining the ethical and social impact of the process on patients and their families. Stemerding and Krom (2011) claimed that the primary objective of public health genomics is to ensure responsible and efficient transfer of genetic information and technologies to benefit the community. The process takes place after an agreement between the patient and the clinician. The clinician is obliged to respect the patient’s decision irrespective of the impact it has on his or her health.
According to Howard et al. (2013), modern bioethics promotes respect for autonomy because historically individuals demonstrate certain intrinsic values and dignities to specific attributes. Patients have the moral rights of making their decisions pertaining genome-based information and technologies to public health. In the past, clinical doctors did not care more about the patient’s opinion regarding genome operations. Additionally, individuals rarely know their genetic information because the issue of ethics was ignored. However, Stemerding and Krom (2011) realized significant issues capable of affecting genomics research if not addressed earlier. These issues include data sharing and intellectual property, data security and privacy, and quality assessment. The issue of data security and privacy falls under the principal on respect for autonomy. Individual wonder whether sharing their genetic information with the medical doctor is ethical, and if so, are they sure of the healthcare keeping the information confidential? Key stakeholders from the government, the health sector, and the general society should collaborate in developing a balanced approach that protects and respects the autonomy of patients. Additionally, the government should allocate adequate resources to the health sector to help come up with policies for ensuring respect for individuals’ autonomy.
As a future DNP leader, it would be important to constitute a team of experts from the health sector, research, and the government to work together in introducing a genome-based information practice that respects the autonomy of the society. The primary focus of the team would be to collect data on public view and their recommendations and combine them with the already known facts to come up with an effective program. Additionally, policies will be developed using a programmatic approach that uses pilot experiments in different individual contexts and regions. Experiments play important roles in determining implications and opportunities associated with the genome-based information and technologies into public health. DNPs have close contacts with patients and best understands their issues; hence, assists in decision-making processes on social and ethical issues affecting the society.

References

Goodman, W. K. (2010). Ethics, information technology, and public health: New challenges for
the clinician-patient relationship. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 1(1), 58-63.
Howard, H. C. et al. (2013). The ethical introduction of genome-based information and
technologies into public health. Public Health Genomics, 16, 100-109.
Sarhan, F. (2009). Telemedicine in healthcare 2: the legal and ethical aspects of using new
technology. Nursing Times, 105(43), 18-20
Stemerding, D., and Krom, A. (2011). Policy brief on public health genomics: An agenda for the
policy hearing. Deliverables 5.2. Retrieved 25 April 2015 from http://www.pacitaproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/WP-5-PACITA_D5_2_-_Policy_Brief_on_Public_Health_Genomics__FINAL_Feb_2014_.pdf