Medical Privacy College Term Paper

Privacy is a very complex concept that needs to be fully examined and understood before one can actually define it. Recently, many proposals to protect privacy have been put forward without a clear idea of what privacy really is. For an individual, privacy is the simple right "to be left alone."1 This explanation is not very concrete since it covers some aspects of privacy like prevention against physical violations such as robbery and trespass; however, permits violation by observation.

What is medical Privacy?
To understand the concept of ‘medical privacy’, it is important to examine the kinds of information that falls under the category of medical information. Since health is extremely vital to our lives, a great deal of information falls under the ‘medical’ category. This can give the term ‘medical privacy’ a very broad definition: so much that it could even prevent lifesaving and advantageous uses of information.

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Medical information can cover a broad range of information: from the fact that a person has a common cold, to the fact that a person has a fatal sexually transmitted disease. Often a wide range of personal information is required for the treatment of a certain disease. This information may include the patient’s behaviors, sexual preferences, medical history, and so on. Often, some information that is normally not private or sensitive is also needed, for example, race, body type, physical appearance, and so on.

Private Health Information
Mental health Information is perhaps the most sensitive medical information. Though much work is being done to reduce the disgrace associated with mental illnesses, socially they are still associated with aggression and incompetence. In the past, people were deprived even of their basic legal right just because they were proclaimed to be mentally ill. This stigma causes many people to avoid treatment for their illness. They fear that the fact of treatment will be exposed and their condition would be made public. Even if patients seek medical help, they may still limit the information they disclose in treatment if they are not certain that it will be kept strictly private.

If patients were assured that their information would be kept private and if they have a certain degree of control over the information they want to reveal then more people will seek suitable and effective mental health treatments. On the contrary, the mentally ill can present a certain degree of danger to others. In a situation like that, it may become necessary to disclose the privacy of mental health information to proper authorities.
 

Substance abuse is a common problem. However not many people willingly divulge their addiction information to others. This is again due to the fact that patients do not trust others to keep their sensitive information private. If substance abuse patients are convinced that their information will be kept private and disclosed only with their knowledge and consent, they will be more willing to seek treatment. Therefore, privacy of information about substance abuse patients is a very important part in the treatment of this problem.

However, the privacy of substance abuse information should not be unconditional. Substance abusers may pose a danger to others, including their own family members. In this case some higher values overcome the high value placed on privacy of information associated to substance abuse. Crime-control is not a value that prevails over the privacy of substance abuse information. To prevent the use of illegal drugs, higher authorities have increased the price of these drugs. This has caused some of the abusers to involve in crimes to generate enough money to afford these drugs. But that does not allow law enforcers to use information about substance abuse treatment to fight crime. Through a bill protecting the privacy of substance abuse information, Congress has made a decision that privacy is a higher value than crime control.

New frontiers in medicine have created new frontiers in the medical privacy debate. For example, the privacy of genetic information has caused a great concern over the past few years. Genetic information can expose very significant and sometimes private information about behaviors, lineage, health, and health prospects. Since there are many potential uses of genetic information, and since social standards about the usage of such information has yet to develop, it is very difficult to make judgments in this regard. Some businesses, however, have already taken upon themselves to help consumers maximize advantageous uses of genetic information while protecting their privacy.

At the same time, some policy makers have proposed to ban certain uses of genetic information. This allows the consumers to conceal true and relevant facts about themselves in order to get jobs or attain benefits. Privacy has not conventionally extended to hiding such information to get advantage over others. Society should not accept genetic information concealment without careful considerations. If implemented, a policy advocating genetic concealment would allow certain individuals to clandestinely move the burden of their genetics to others. In other fields, cover up of true and pertinent facts is considered misrepresentation or fraud. The policies that openly and directly offer assistance and benefits to victims of genetic disease are far more preferable.

As advancements in genetics improve and prolonged life, our approach to genetic privacy will develop accordingly. It is almost impossible to predict what genetics will bring or what the suitable privacy standards for genetic information will be. Those policy makers who try to set privacy standards ahead of time risk giving up many advantages of genetic science.
 

Non-Private Health Information
While it is apparent that some health information is extremely sensitive and private, it is also important to realize that some health information is not private or sensitive at all. In fact, some patients may appreciate having their health information revealed. Victims of car accidents, sports injuries, or other traumas may benefit from reduced anguish and get true mental health benefits from public acknowledgement of their pain. Some medical conditions cannot be kept private as a practical matter because of the way they occur. Such conditions include skin disorders affecting the face and hands, nerve and muscle disorders, obesity, and a variety of other disabilities that are noticeable to all who see the individuals affected.

No comprehensive conclusions can be drawn from the fact that some health information is not private. It is important to realize that the privacy and sensitivity of health information falls along a range that is very specific to the individual conditions of individual patients. This advocates against broad generalizations or regulatory programs that attempt to categorize all health information into a single category.

The Importance of Medical Privacy
Medical privacy is significantly important. A survey conducted by The Gallup Organization revealed that as many as 78% of the people felt that it is very important that their medical records be kept confidential.7 Maintaining the privacy of medical information accurately saves lives. This is because without the guarantee of privacy, patients may avoid life-saving treatments.
Rightly or wrongly, many diseases and their treatments have a degree of stigma attached to them. Due to this reason, patients may avoid treatment if they are not completely certain that information about them will remain confidential. Patients with insurance may stall treatment until their condition has deteriorated. Some would even prefer to pay for treatment out of their own pockets in order to avoid exposing themselves to a health care system that they think would not maintain their privacy.

In addition, patients who do seek treatment may hold back important information out of fear for divulging private information. This may prevent patients from acquiring appropriate treatments. Privacy is an independent concept that people use to retain control over their private lives. In case of health care privacy is very much a way to improve medical results. People who can trust their health care system are more likely to seek complete treatment. In this way, privacy has solid advantages for each person and for the whole society.

The importance of unrestricted access to Medical Information
Medical health care systems have improved greatly because of the tremendous advances in both medical technology and information technology. In the past, people used to rely on only one family doctor and his opinion was considered to be final. Today, society has become mobile, there have been tremendous advances in medicine and it has developed into numerous specialties. This has led to the development of networked health care systems providing all kinds of treatments.

The free access to medical information has many benefits. Unrestricted access to medical information allows faster detection of what treatments work and what do not. Medical information allows epidemiologists to rapidly locate and seize disease eruptions and viral illnesses. Also, medical information allows people to get insurances and attain assistance in treatments. Without certain information, it becomes impossible for health care systems to provide full treatment to their patients. While it is acceptable that people should have a certain degree of control over their personal information, it should not be an