I wrote an article several years ago on the subject of confidentiality in nursing. It has since disappeared from the site I wrote it for. It deserves updating now as it continues to be a big part of medical ethics. Technology continues to change our lives and social media and confidentiality do not mix well. Younger nurses who have grown up in the era of social media and sharing everything may have a hard time understanding confidentiality issues. Confidentiality has morphed with the HIPAA laws. HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 which was first designed to allow employees to keep and carry their health insurance…
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Patient Confidentiality
In the past few days Elizabeth Taylor has tweeted (@DameElizabeth) several times about her heart valve surgery and hospitalization. Since she has made her health condition and hospitalization public, does this mean the nurses can divulge that they have provided care for her? NO it does not! HIPAA regulations still hold, and even before these regs took effect, nurses have had an obligation to maintain patient confidentiality. Ms. Taylor can divulge what she feels comfortable with, but the entire hospital staff is bound by patient confidentiality and HIPAA regulations about who can view or know any of her information as it pertains to their job and her care. This can…
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Kaplan Publishing Needs Stories for Anthology
Kaplan Publishing has issued a call for nurse writers to contribute to an upcoming anthology entitled Kaplan Voices:Nurses series. For this portion of the anthology, entitled New Lives, the need is for nurses with experience working with babies in the first 28 days of their lives. These stories would most likely come from OB-GYN nurses, NICU nurses, labor and delivery or newborn nursery nurses, nurse midwives, family practice or women’s health NPs, nurse lactation or childbirth educators, pediatric nurses, and any other nurses who have had experience caring for newborn infants. Kaplan wants you to tell the story of your experience including “the babies you have cared for, the unique…