Ethics for Professionals 104

Course overview

*Define the terms confidential information and confidentiality. *Identify the relationship of a patient's legal right to privacy with his reasonable expectations regarding confidential information. *Describe how the telling and keeping of secrets is relevant to understanding the importance of confidentiality. *Discuss the ethical norms involved in keeping and breaking professional confidences. *Name five general legal exceptions to the professional standard of practice that confidences should not be broken. *Consider practical options that a professional can take when faced with the possibility of breaking a confidence. *Discuss some important aspects of documentation that affect confidentiality. *Compare ethical issues of confidentiality traditionally conceived with those that have arisen because of computerized medical records and patient care information systems. *Describe the key ethical strengths and challenges of the recent U.S. federal regulations related to privacy considerations (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996). *Become familiar with AOTA and APTA Code of Ethics. *Review and become familiar with the TX PT Rules. *Read case scenarios illustrating ethical decision making.