Question

Please describe how you understand confidentiality and privacy to differ. Is it ever ok to breach patient confidentiality? If so, how and when. Is it ever ok to breach patient privacy? If so, how and when?

2. Case study: The patient is a 54 year old woman. She has been experiencing fatigue, dizziness, pallor and excessive vaginal bleeding for several months. Upon a visit to her physician, it has been discovered that the patient is symptomatically anemic and does not have any type of tumor, cancer or other abnormality. The bleeding is symptomatic of peri-menopause, which can last for several years. The physician explains that a hysterectomy, surgery to remove the uterus, will alleviate all symptoms. The surgery can be performed as day surgery and with minimally invasive techniques. The patient is otherwise healthy.

The patient states that she understands that if she has the surgery, the vaginal bleeding will stop, she will no longer suffer from anemia and the accompanying dizziness and fatigue. She knows that the surgery is minimally invasive and she will likely go home the same day as the operation. She refuses the surgery, however, because she is about to be married and wants to have children with her future husband.

a. Is the patient competent to make the decision? Explain.

b. Is the decision rational or irrational? Explain.

Answer 1

1. Confidentiality = It is the information or data that is given by a client or patient keep colse for authority and can be disclose to some persons after taking permission from the client.

It is the information to kept secret. It is a professional obligation and aggreement. There is restrictions to assess the confidential data for the unauthorised people.

Privacy = It means restricting some data or information of client to publish. It is personal choise and right of a client to maintain privacy. It is the restriction of public from assessing private data.

It is ever ok to breach patient confidentiality. But there are some setuations where confidentiality can not be maintained.

If there is any issue about crime like physical, sexual or emotional assault, drug or alcohol abuse, suicidal tendencies and harm to self or other. In these case there the confidentiality can not be maintained.

It is ever ok to breach patient privacy. Privacy has to maintain for all time.as like confidentiality, privacy should not be disclosed at any setuation. Even after the death of the person privacy has to maintain.

2. a) No, the patient is not competent for the decission. As she is in 54 yrs. of old. She is in a conscious state. She is adult too much for take her own decisions. She is not dependable to any othe person. So, she is competent for take the decission.

b) The decission of her her is irrational. As she is in 54 yrs. of age. Alrady she is in peri- menopausal stage and will develop menopause with in few years. She is also suffering from abnormal uterine bleeding, fatigue, dizziness, anemia. ẞo, her decission is irrational.