Analyzing Technology Ethics in Mental Health within Lifeline Australia

This essay delves into the critical issue of technology ethics within the mental health sector, specifically focusing on the non-profit organization Lifeline Australia. The paper examines the ethical challenges related to personality disorders, data security, and patient confidentiality, drawing upon the article “Ethical aspects of personality disorder.” It explores the ethical responsibilities of organizations in protecting patient information and addresses the vulnerabilities within information systems. The essay reviews relevant ethical theories, including utilitarianism, virtue ethics, and social contract theory, to analyze the ethical implications of technology use in mental health services. It highlights the importance of informed consent, confidentiality, and the potential consequences of unethical conduct, offering a comprehensive analysis of how these ethical frameworks can be applied to address contemporary ethical problems. The essay concludes by emphasizing the crucial role of ethical considerations in the promotion of mental health and the provision of care, particularly in the context of technological advancements.

Running head: ISSUES OF TECHNOLOGY IN MENTAL HEALTH
Issue of technology ethics in mental health
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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ISSUES OF TECHNOLOGY IN MENTAL HEALTH
1. Introduction
The paper mainly reflects on the issue of technology ethics in mental health within the
organization Lifeline, which is one of the non-profit organization that helps in providing free
support services in Australia in order to prevent mental health support as well as emotional
assistance to the people who faces mental disorder. The main aim of the paper is to review the
article “Ethical aspects of personality disorder” in order to determine the technological ethics.
The paper reviews business ethics within the organization including proper knowledge of ethical
theories that are relevant (Bendelow 2018). In addition to this, the paper also analyzes ethical
theories as well as framework that are helpful in addressing the contemporary ethical problems.
Moreover, the paper also reflects on the current issues to business ethics for applying proper
relevant framework that are important.
2. Discussion
Reviewing the article on ethical perspective
The paper mainly reviews ethical aspects that are related with personality disorders
within the organization “Lifeline” in Australia. According to East and Havard (2015), diagnostic
currency that is associated with personality disorder is considered as one of the medical disorder
that generally creates longstanding history in context to ethical as well as social challenges with
the critiques of medicalization. Recently, the controversies that is associated with reflexive
physicians in context to inclusion of the category is considered as a forthcoming revision of
international classification of mental disorders (Kidd, Kenny and McKinstry 2015). It is found
that the organization faces number of ethical issues in context to personality disorders which
mainly include informed consent, competence of understanding information as well as rational

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decisions, disclosed information of the patients due to vulnerability issues in the information
system of the organization as well as ethical issues related with involuntary treatment.
It is stated by Bendelow (2018) that it is the responsibility of the organization to keep the
medical information as well as details of the patients that faces mental disorders due to problems
within the information system of the organization. The information system that is used by the
organization does not have proper security including firewall and therefore the chances of
hacking data is quite high that can further create number of ethical challenges and issues within
the project. In addition to this, it is stated by East and Havard (2015) that there are number of
security as well as legal risks of hacking as well as leaking confidential details of the patients.
The legal risk generally includes the lawsuits due to the proper disclosure of various types of
personal and confidential information that further create negative impact on the organization.
Ethical ideas from literature
According to Kidd, Kenny and McKinstry (2015), personality disorders are quite difficult
to define and it is found that there are some common ethical issues that are mainly associated
with medicine and mental health. It is found that any type of medical research that are associated
with human beings are generally informed consent of the individuals that is mainly considered as
one of the significant part for the research protocol. The various types of difficulty that is present
in seriously ill patients due to their illness are unable to judge the risks that is mainly involved
with the different medical research based procedures. Sometimes the patients are not well
educated and thus providing consent to some of the research protocol generally seems to be one
of the inadequate safeguard. It is stated by Bendelow (2018) that both the patients and their
families generally trust their doctors and thus big ethical responsibility generally falls on the
doctor who is mainly engaged in treatment.

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On the other hand, it is opined by East and Havard (2015) that mental illness sometimes
compromises the decision making capacity of an individual that is mainly associated with the
need of treatment. The treatment generally aims to properly modify the behaviour that is
perceived a proper implied threat because the patients who are suffering from personality
disorder utilized for controlling the behaviour of the patients. This is generally required by the
physicians for executing principles that are associated with beneficence for treating the balance
in order to make with the autonomy of the different patients (Kidd, Kenny and McKinstry 2015).
In addition to this, it is found that confidentiality mainly refers to not disclosing the important
information as well as details without taking the permission of the organization. If the
information system of the organization does not maintain proper security standards, then the
chances of hacking confidential information of the patients who suffer from personality disorder.
Thus, it is analyzed that maintenance of information system within the organization is one of the
important step for handling the mental illness of the patients quite effectively.
It is opined by Bendelow (2018) that all of us are capable of determining the moral as
well as ethical issues that are mainly surrounded with the promotion of mental health as well as
care provision. This mainly include promotion of mental health, access to the affordable acre,
unequal distribution of resources and other obligations that are associated with the society in
order to protect the most vulnerable citizens. Concomitant with the determination of various
pressing issues for keeping oneself aware in order to properly address the issues as well as
challenges. Moreover, it is found that the most important global development within the mental
health as well as well for specifically addressing the inequities in service delivery for one of the
devastating issue.

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Application of ethical theory
According to Lucas, Van and Maat (2016), business ethics is mainly defined as one of the
study that mainly reflects on what is right and what is wrong in business context. It is one of the
moral theory that helps in assessing whether a specific action or rule is ethically justified. It is
identified that that a moral theory helps in sharpening moral vision that further helps in
determining whether the action or rule that is taken is ethically right or not (Vinnari, Vinnari and
Kupsala 2017). The different ethical theories that are applied for analyzing the situation are
generally elaborated below:
Utilitarianism is considered as one of the ethical theory that assists in determining the
right or wrong by focusing on the outcomes. It generally helps in holding the most ethical choice
that generally helps in producing the moral framework that is further used for providing proper
justification in context to the situation (Loreggia et al. 2017). As the organization “Lifeline” is
incapable of managing the information and data of the patients that faces problems due to mental
disorders generally creates a number of ethical issues and challenges. As per the theory of
utilitarianism, it is found that the act that is done by the organization is ethically wrong and
therefore it is very much necessary for the organization must to provide proper step for resolving
the ethical challenges that occurs by the individuals who faces personality disorders.
Virtue ethics is mainly dependent on the person rather than the action that is generally
taken. It generally looks at the virtue or the moral character of the individual who generally takes
the initiative of carrying out the action properly rather focussing on ethical duties as well as rules
or the consequences that are mainly associated with different actions (Johnson 2018). As per the

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virtue ethics, it is is necessary for the doctors who are trusted blindly by the family and friends of
the patients to take proper ethical actions while treating the patient who is mainly suffering from
any mental issue like the personality issue. It is found that virtue ethics not only deals with the
rightfulness or the wrongfulness of the individual’s actions but it generally helps in providing
proper guidance to the characteristics as well as behaviour of the person.
It is opined by Hall, Gartner and Forlini (2015) that environmental ethics is defined as
one of the part of environmental philosophy that mainly considers extension of the traditional
boundaries including humans. It generally helps in influencing large range of discipline
including environmental sociology, ecology, environmental law as well as environmental
geography. It is quite necessary to maintain environmental ethics by successfully extending the
traditional boundaries. Furthermore, it is stated by Tveit and Sunde (2016) that social contract
theory mainly reflects on the people who live together in accordance with the agreement that is
established morally as with the help of political behaviour. Some people generally believe that if
anyone live according to the social contract then they can be able to live as per their choice.
Thus, it is quite necessary to utilize the contract ethical theory within the project in order to
maintain ethics within the business.
3. Conclusion
It can be concluded from the entire paper that the utilization of ethical theories plays an
important role in analyzing the issue of technology ethics in mental health within the
organization Lifeline. The paper reviews number of journal articles in order to present the ethical
ideas that are important in context to personality disorder. In addition to this, it is found that a
number of ethical theories are generally analyzed in order to analyze whether the actions which
are taken are ethically correct or not. Moreover, the paper also reviews article from ethical

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perspective in order to determine the issue that are faced by the individuals who are suffering
from personality disorders.
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