Question

Sally is a new patient to the clinic and has just tested posative pregnacy test. Her freind andrea is an employee of the medical clinic and ran into sally and her hsband at the store. andrea congradualtes her freind sally and her husband on the pregnancy. Little did andrea know that sally and her husband been having marital problems and been sleeping in seperte roomswhat did andrea do wrong and how should she have approached sally and her husband?

Answer 1

In the above case Andrea who is healthcare worker has disclosed the confidential medical report to Sally and her husband. This has caused in breech of patient confidentiality.
A healthcare worker should always maintain the privacy of the patient's private and medical information. A healthcare worker should always discuss the patient information in a provate clinical setup with the patient and should never disclose the information in publicily or to other people who do not have the right to patient's medical information.
In the above scenario, Andrea should have maintained her professional dignity and adhered bythe ethics of her profession of maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality. She should not have disclosed the information in public place in front of her husband. Rather she should have waited for Sally to come to the clinic to collect the reports and have a private conversation with the concerned doctor and other healthcare professionals or Andrea could have called her privately to reveal the news of pregnancy.