Ethical Considerations for Adopting Electronic Records in Nursing Essay

Introduction

From the situation at hand, I feel that Robert as the Case Manager (CM) was at fault considering that he did the update of the various lists using his home network that is personal, thereby putting the data at risk. More risk is created when he asks his patients to share the list while using different networks that could be personal. There is more risk and that is the reason as to why it was easier for a virus to be introduced in the list and shared among the clients. However, I also understand the reason as to why the CM did what he did, as his intention was to make it easier for patients suffering from a common illness can have an easier time sharing.

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Problem Statement

The problem was the CM using his personal network to update the lists, yet for the sake of security, he would have done the same using that of the hospital. In addition to that, he made the list and allowed the patients to share the same in unsecured networks, whereas he would have made it easier by having all the patients have personal data that is tailored depending on what they are only supposed to view. In that case, the other issue is with regards to updating all the information in one list, whereas he would have maintained privacy by separating the information.

Ethical Principles

The ethical principles that could be used in this case are with regards to the application of information systems needs to be done by persons who have been trained on how to handle the same. At the same time, the principle of privacy and confidentiality needs to apply, as the information at hand did not have privacy and was not confidential (Wilburn, 2017).

Alternatives for Dilemma

There are other ways that would have been used to sort out the dilemma at hand. The first one is that the CM should have used the hospital network to update and share the list considering that it has some level of security that would have made it hard for it to be affected by a virus. Secondly, the sharing of the lists was wrong, and the CM would have shared information that is tailored to suit each patient and share with them individually. That would have made it difficult to have a virus affecting the documents. Finally, he would have done all that after informing the employer about the same so that in case of anything proper actions would be taken.

Consequences for Alternatives

Using the hospital network does not guarantee that the list would be safer, but there is a lower chance of having a virus since there are various protective measures. This option implies that there would be no damage to the hard drives of the computers of the patients. The consequence of not sharing the same list with everyone is that there would be no sharing of a virus-infected file. Besides that, there would be no issue of breaching privacy and confidentiality since each patient would get a personal file (Wilburn, 2017). Finally, informing the employer would make the institution be aware of what is happening and therefore set up measures for countering any issues that may occur.

Conclusion

The choices selected take into consideration each and every person affected in the case. For instance, having a file for each patient made to suit personal needs would have prevented the sharing of a virus-infected file, and hence, no personal computer drive would have been damaged. At the same time, informing the employer would make it easier to deal with the patient in case of problems occurring. I would live with the decision I make from my choices considering that they are based on the proper ethical standards. In that case, the best action would be for the CM to personally reimburse all the patients since that is not the problem of the employer.

References

Wilburn, A. (2017). Nursing Informatics: Ethical Considerations for Adopting Electronic Records. NASN School Nurse, 33(3), 150-153. doi: 10.1177/1942602x17712020