Good Example Of Essay On Paper B2: Organizational Policy

Overview of Policy

The ethical policy on sharing of confidential patient data is designed to protect the rights of patients to privacy, and ensure justice, beneficence, and respect for persons in the use of such data. When a sound ethical policy is developed and implemented, various stakeholders including nursing practitioners, patients, and government agencies will understand the role they have to play in ensuring that confidential information is shared and used responsibly.
The ethical codes and standards set in the policy will not be compromised for any reason. Violators of these codes and standards will face the full implications of their actions as prescribed under the policy. The success of the organizational ethical policy requires concerted efforts of all the various stakeholders of the nursing profession.
The need for new policy arises because nursing professionals are often faced with the constant challenge of keeping patient data confidential. The policy will ensure that perpetrators are held personally accountable for their decisions and actions to uphold justice, beneficence, and respect for persons (Fowler, 2010).

Purpose

The principal aim of this organizational ethical policy is to create a working framework whereby all stakeholders in the nursing profession are fully aware of the importance to handle confidential patient information in a responsible manner. It recognizes that confidential information that pertains to a particular individual should be handled with due care.

All nursing practitioners will be expected to acquaint themselves with the ethics guidelines to avoid the consequences of professional misconduct.

Scope (Roles and Responsibilities of Stakeholders)
This policy describes what professional misconduct or unprofessional behavior constitutes and the investigation of unethical concerns raised against a nurse. It also prescribes remedial measures for such concerns. This policy applies to various stakeholders including nursing practitioners, patients, and government agencies.

Policy/Procedures to Follow

Nursing Practitioners’ Commitment to Organizational Ethics
Nursing practitioners have the duty to honor patients, their rights, and their responsibilities. Showing respect patients implies that they must not treat patients as a mere means to the end.

Nursing practitioners have the duty to do good to their patients either individually or collectively as a group.

Nursing practitioners have the moral duty to treat all patients fairly; in a way that distributes the risks and benefits of nursing care equally.

Patients’ Commitment to Organizational Ethics

Every patient has the duty to see to it that nursing practitioners honor their rights, and their responsibilities.
It is the duty of every patient to report the failure of any nursing practitioner to do well for them at both the individual and collective levels.
As a patient, one is at liberty to assume that the individual sharing their files does so fairly while distributing the risks and benefits of nursing care equally.

Other Nursing Practitioners’ (Recipients of Patient Data) Commitment to Organizational Ethics

Other nursing practitioners have the duty to honor others, their rights, and their responsibilities in case of a medical emergency (Russell, 2012).
Other nursing practitioners have a duty to make sure that they uphold the common good of patients, individually and collectively in line with professional standards (Russell, 2012).
Other nursing practitioners can presume that the information provided to them is accurate and can be used to administer medical attention to a patient (Russell, 2012).

Government Agencies Commitment to Organizational Ethics

Government agencies have the duty to treat patient data confidentially upon a formal request to access such data (Russell, 2012).
Government agencies have the duty to use such data to do good for all patients (Russell, 2012). For example, when developing a new comprehensive health care cover for the citizens.

Government agencies have the duty to make sure that all medical benefits provided to the patients are spread equally (Russell, 2012).

Government agencies have the responsibility to enforce the nurse practice act for each state with the objective of protecting the public interest.

Unethical Behavior

Discrimination and mistreatment of any kind patients will not be tolerated
Errors in the administration of medication will be unacceptable
Loss of patient files will not be permitted
The electronic medical registry will be used to record, maintain, and store patient data only.
Sanctions/Enforcement
5.1 Complaints about nurse practitioners’ compliance with the nurse practice law will be heard by a nursing board, which will conduct hearings for license holders, determine cases, and administer the prescribed remedial actions based on proof of abuse of the law.
5.2 Nursing boards have the duty to adhere to standard procedures, provide unbiased judgments, and be completely transparent in their findings (American Nurses Association, 2012).
5.3 Increasing the knowledge and research capabilities of nursing practitioners in pushing for better ethics in the nursing discipline.
5.4 Interpretation and application of the state nurse practice laws
5.5 Administering nurse licensure via the oversight of exams to issue licenses and take appropriate action against licensing of nurses who have demonstrated unethical nursing practice (American Nurses Association, 2012).
5.6 Approval or accreditation of nurse education programs
5.7 Developing nursing practice codes and standards from a regulatory angle
5.8 Developing administrative rules and regulations to discourage unethical behavior
Source Guide: SANS Institute. (2014)

References

American Nurses Association. (2012, March). Roles of state boards of nursing: Licensure, regulation and complaint investigation. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Tools/State-Boards-of-Nursing-FAQ.pdf
Fowler, M. D. (2010). Guide to the code of ethics for nurses: Interpretation and application. Retrieved from http://www.nursesbooks.org/ebooks/download/CodeofEthics.pdf
Russell, K. A. (2012). Nurse practice Acts guide and govern nursing practice. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 3(3), 36-42. Retrieved from https://www.ncsbn.org/2012_JNR_NPA_Guide.pdf
SANS Institute. (2014). Consensus Policy Resource Community: Ethics Policy. Retrieved from http://www.sans.org/security-resources/policies/general/pdf/ethics-policy