Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security
Lecture:Tools for protecting privacy and confidentiality
Slide content:Other Issues to Ponder Who owns information? How is informed consent implemented? When does public good exceed personal privacy? e.g., public health, research, law enforcement What conflicts are there with business interests? How do we let individuals opt out of systems? What are the costs? When do we override? 19
Slide notes:This slide closes the general conversation on privacy, security, and confidentiality with a few general issues to ponder. Who owns information? When a health care provider creates information, puts it on a computer system that the provider owns or, for that matter, on a piece of paper, who actually owns that information? Most people would argue that the patient owns the information, although the medium is perhaps owned by others. When information is moved across systems, ownership of the information starts to blur. Informed consent is another issue. It refers to permission given by a patient to a health care provider and acknowledging that the patient agrees to treatment with full knowledge of the possible risks and benefits. How is informed consent best implemented to ensure that people really understand the issues and are truly willing to give consent? When does the public good exceed personal privacy? Should it be for public health measures, for medical research, for law enforcement? What conflicts are there with business interests when it comes to privacy and confidentiality? And, finally, how will individuals be allowed to opt out of different systems? Should they be allowed to opt out of any specific piece of information, or should it be an all or nothing choice? If people are allowed to choose different options, what are the costs of each, and is it appropriate for health care providers to override those choices when access to vital patient information is necessary to provide the best medical care and/or to advocate for the common good? 19