The experience of patients with rheumatoid arthritis admitted to hospital.
(9/272)
OBJECTIVE: To describe the experiences of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) when admitted to hospital. METHODS: A selected sample of 9 women with RA of at least 3 years duration, who had experienced at least 5 days of inpatient care within the previous 2 years, underwent unstructured interviews in this qualitative, phenomenological study. Information from the interviews was analyzed using Colaizzi's 6 procedural steps. RESULTS: Five major themes emerged from the study: uncertainty during the first admission to hospital; the process of becoming an experienced patient on subsequent admissions; the evident experience and knowledge of staff; the effect, both positive and negative, of other patients; and the loss of privacy. CONCLUSION: These findings throw important new light on the experience of patients with RA receiving inpatient rheumatologic care and have the potential to significantly advance nursing practice within rheumatology. (+info)
The health care information directive.
(10/272)
BACKGROUND: Developments in information technology promise to revolutionise the delivery of health care by providing access to data in a timely and efficient way. Information technology also raises several important concerns about the confidentiality and privacy of health data. New and existing legislation in Europe and North America may make access to patient level data difficult with consequent impact on research and health surveillance. Although research is being conducted on technical solutions to protect the privacy of personal health information, there is very little research on ways to improve individuals power over their health information. This paper proposes a health care information directive, analogous to an advance directive, to facilitate choices regarding health information disclosure. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A health care information directive is described which creates a decision matrix that combines the ethical appropriateness of the use of personal health information with the sensitivity of the data. It creates a range of possibilities with in which individuals can choose to contribute health information with or without consent, or not to contribute information at all. CONCLUSION: The health care information directive may increase individuals understanding of the uses of health information and increase their willingness to contribute certain kinds of health information. Further refinement and evaluation of the directive is required. (+info)
Standards for privacy of individually identifiable health information. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, DHHS. Final rule.
(11/272)
This rule includes standards to protect the privacy of individually identifiable health information. The rules below, which apply to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and certain health care providers, present standards with respect to the rights of individuals who are the subjects of this information, procedures for the exercise of those rights, and the authorized and required uses and disclosures of this information. The use of these standards will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public and private health programs and health care services by providing enhanced protections for individually identifiable health information. These protections will begin to address growing public concerns that advances in electronic technology and evolution in the health care industry are resulting, or may result in, a substantial erosion of the privacy surrounding individually identifiable health information maintained by health care providers, health plans and their administrative contractors. This rule implements the privacy requirements of the Administrative Simplification subtitle of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. (+info)
Informational privacy and the public's health: the Model State Public Health Privacy Act.
(12/272)
Protecting public health requires the acquisition, use, and storage of extensive health-related information about individuals. The electronic accumulation and exchange of personal data promises significant public health benefits but also threatens individual privacy; breaches of privacy can lead to individual discrimination in employment, insurance, and government programs. Individuals concerned about privacy invasions may avoid clinical or public health tests, treatments, or research. Although individual privacy protections are critical, comprehensive federal privacy protections do not adequately protect public health data, and existing state privacy laws are inconsistent and fragmented. The Model State Public Health Privacy Act provides strong privacy safeguards for public health data while preserving the ability of state and local public health departments to act for the common good. (+info)
A vote for no confidence.
(13/272)
This paper considers the justifications for adhering to a principle of confidentiality within medical practice. These are found to derive chiefly from respect for individual autonomy, the doctor/patient contract, and social utility. It is suggested that these will benefit more certainly if secrecy is rejected and the principle of confidentiality is removed from the area of health care. (+info)
Protection of patients' rights to privacy.
(14/272)
The following statement was agreed [upon] by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (the Vancouver Group) at its meeting last week in San Francisco. It is a complete revision of the initial guidelines on this subject issued in 1991. (+info)
AIDS and ethics: an analytic framework.
(15/272)
The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic has raised difficult ethical issues in public policy formulation and in the care of patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Many issues relate to measures proposed for the protection of the public from HIV infection. This article presents an analytic framework from which these measures can be rationally evaluated. Specific measures are assessed on the basis of their likelihood of success, in relation to their justification for infringement on individual rights, and with reference to other less intrusive measures that could accomplish the same objective. Case histories are discussed which raise ethical dilemmas in the care of HIV infected and high-risk patients. The application of this framework could assist physicians in analysing public health policy and making judgements in individual clinical situations. (+info)
Annual report of Council, 1982-1983: medical ethics.(16/272)