Report on Privacy Act, Bioethics, and Medical Records in Nursing

This report examines the legal and ethical considerations within nursing practice, focusing on the Privacy Act of 1988, bioethics, and patient access to medical records. The report analyzes the importance of protecting client data through authorized access, secure record-keeping, and prompt response to privacy breaches. It also explores the limitations on accessing medical records, considering factors like the patient's mental and physical health, the deceased's age, and public interest concerns. Furthermore, the report discusses bioethics, including its ethical, legal, and social issues, particularly in medical advancements and how moral reasoning can be applied to bioethical dilemmas. The report references relevant legislation and guidance to support its analysis and provide a comprehensive understanding of these crucial aspects of nursing practice.

Running header: Nursing 1
Legal and professional issues in nursing
Students Name
Institutional Affiliation

Nursing 2
Question 2A.
In relation to the Privacy Act 1988, there are different precautions that organizations can
consider in order to ensure the privacy of client data. One, authorized staff are the only people
who should access or update client records. Secondly, precautionary steps should be taken to
protect client data such as adopting a recordkeeping system to prevent the modification,
duplication, destruction or illegal access of unauthorized client data (Privacy Act, 2018). Lastly,
early detection and responding of privacy breaches. Using someone else password might infringe
an organization policy on privacy since by using the password of another person, one can access
unauthorized data illegally or accidentally. Therefore, unauthorized data may be duplicated,
modified or destroyed hence deeming the organization policy on privacy ineffective.
Question 2B.
In relation to the privacy act and the right information act legislation, an individual can
make a request to access personal medical records. However, the access can be limited due to
different reasons. One, if access to the medical information would either cause mental health or
physical health, access may be limited (NHS Confederation, 2018). In addition, the age of the
deceased may be crucial to whether they agree to release the records to the patient. Also, if the
information would be against the public interest, the patient can be denied the medical
information (Caxton Legal Centre, 2018). In determining whether a patient can access medical
records, I would engage both the health information coordinator and the administrative officer.
Question 3B.
Bioethics is defined as the study of ethical, legal and social issues that arise from
advancement in medicine, biology, medical policy, and practice. Bioethics includes;
environmental ethics, medical ethics, public health ethics, and research ethics. According to
Schneider in “Bioethics in the language of the law,” moral reasoning in bioethics can be done by
the use of legal concepts (Johnston, & Dietz, 2018). However, the social regulatory system can
be inadequate in evaluating moral obligations in relation to bioethics.

Nursing 3
References
Caxton Legal Centre, 2018. Access to Medical Records. Retrieved from
https://queenslandlawhandbook.org.au/the-queensland-law-handbook/health-and-
wellbeing/medical-law/access-to-medical-records/
Johnston, J., & Dietz, E. (2018). Bioethics: Key Concepts and Research | JSTOR Daily.
Retrieved from https://daily.jstor.org/bioethics-key-concepts-research/
NHS Confederation, (2018). Legislation and guidance relating to medical records explained by
House of Commons Library. Retrieved from
http://www.nhsconfed.org/resources/2015/10/legislation-and-guidance-relating-to-
medical-records-explained-by-house-of-commons-library
Privacy Act, (2018). Guide to securing personal information| Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner - OAIC. Retrieved from https://www.oaic.gov.au/agencies-
and-organisations/guides/guide-to-securing-personal-information