Ethical Dilemma: Confidentiality in Medical Practice and Healthcare

This essay delves into the ethical dilemma faced by medical practitioners regarding patient confidentiality, particularly when balancing the need to share information with the obligation to protect patient privacy. It emphasizes the importance of ethical guidelines, codes of conduct, and the potential conflicts that arise when these principles clash. The essay highlights the significance of the doctor-patient relationship, the legal and ethical implications of breaching confidentiality, and the circumstances under which such breaches might be permissible, such as when the patient is in need of help, when the government requires the information, or when the patient makes his/her health an issue in court. It also stresses the importance of ethical education and adherence to ethical requirements in hospitals to minimize ethical dilemmas, referencing various scholars and their works. The essay concludes by advocating for a strong ethical foundation and continuous adherence to ethical standards to mitigate the challenges associated with patient confidentiality.

Running head: ETHICAL DILEMMA 1
Ethical Dilemma
Institutional affiliation
Date

ETHICAL DILEMMA 2
Ethical Dilemma
Ethics are moral principles or systematic concepts governing right or wrong conduct.
These principles govern how a person behaves when conducting certain activities. The definition
of ethics is wide depending on the particular field of interest, it could also mean moral codes or
moral values, thus, distinguishing between good and evil, virtuous and non-virtuous. In a
hospital context, ethical problems always arise making it difficult to distinguish if a decision is
ethically right or not which most of the time is informed by someone’s religious and social
cultural background (Kälvemark et al., 2004). In this paper, we will be focusing on the dilemma
that medical practitioners face when providing information to carers bearing in mind the
patient/client confidentiality concerns and ethical implications.
There are three concepts that have been used interchangeably in the medical fraternity,
these are, confidentiality, ethics and security. Although, they all have different meanings entirely
but they are linked together with the same goal. Confidentiality is the most commonly used
concept and it refers to the obligations that medical practitioners who access patient’s records to
hold this information in confidence. This obligation is supported by the code of ethics, principle
I, which stipulates that individual right to privacy and confidentiality must be upheld and
defended at all times.
The dilemma that medical practitioners face when they feel that they ought to inform
other affected parties about their patients’ medical records are dire both to the practitioner and
the hospital. Even though it might feel like it’s the ethical thing to do, other factors have to be
considered before breaking the patient/client confidentiality obligation (Seitz & O'neill, 1996).
Whether an issue is right or wrong, medical practitioners must always endeavor to honor the
confidential relationship they have with their patients.

ETHICAL DILEMMA 3
Ethical dilemmas arises when an individual’s moral principles overrides patients right to
privacy and the patient/client confidentiality. Information in medical records is considered to be
highly sensitive and private, thus, it should never be disclosed unless the patient consents
(Smythe & Murray, 2000). Several circumstances however, will allow the doctor to share
personal medical records without express permission from the patient. This could only occur if
the patients is in need of help, if the government requires the information and also, if the patient
makes his/her health an issue in court (Lo, 2012).
In conclusion, extensive ethical education is a good starting point to avoid ethical
dilemma cases in hospitals. It is also imperative to sanction unethical behaviors in hospitals so as
to reduce ethical dilemmas. Although it is a contentious issue, with a good ethical education
background and strict adherence to ethical requirements in hospitals it will cease to be a problem
to many medical practitioners.

ETHICAL DILEMMA 4
References
Kälvemark, S., Höglund, A. T., Hansson, M. G., Westerholm, P., & Arnetz, B. (2004). Living
with conflicts-ethical dilemmas and moral distress in the health care system. Social
science & medicine, 58(6), 1075-1084.
Lo, B. (2012). Resolving ethical dilemmas: a guide for clinicians. Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins.
Seitz, J., & O'neill, P. (1996). Ethical decision-making and the code of ethics of the Canadian
Psychological Association. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 37(1), 23.
Smythe, W. E., & Murray, M. J. (2000). Owning the story: Ethical considerations in narrative
research. Ethics & Behavior, 10(4), 311-336.