Ethical Issues Related to the Sharing of Healthcare Information: Expanding on My Colleague's Idea

Introduction

My colleague provided a good explanation of the ethical issues related to the sharing of healthcare information. Additionally, the author explained that there are certain situations where an individual's right to privacy may be violated. I agree with the author that one of the critical ethical issues in sharing of healthcare information is privacy.

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Apart from what has been mentioned by my colleague, I would also like to add that for research studies that fall within the scope of Genomic Data Sharing policy, it is mandatory that submitting institutions undertake a review of the informed consent forms with the aim of determining if sharing of data for research purposes is appropriate (Hollis, 2016). This is accomplished through via respective privacy boards or Institutional Review Boards. Similarly, Ozair, Jamshed, Sharma, and Aggarwal (2015) agree that patient's information should only be made available to others with the patient's consent or when allowed by law.

Agreement With My Colleague’s Idea

I agree with my colleague that the findings of past research studies are useful in informing current clinical practices and in treating current diseases and conditions. This is known as evidence-based practice; a process of systematically adopting the most current evidence to address a clinical question (Ammouri et al., 2014; Duke University Medical Centre Library and Archives, 2018).

Further Suggestions

Apart from my colleague's explanation on the topic of community health, I would also like to suggest that when healthcare researchers are faced with a situation where they are required to choose between an individual patient's privacy and community health, the public good supersedes individual's right to privacy. This is because public health surveillance is guided by accountability, solidarity, the common good, trust, and the need to balance between a person's rights and collective interests (World Health Organization, 2017).

References

Ammouri, A. A., Raddaha, A. A., Dsouza, P., Geethakrishnan, R., Noronha, J. A., Obeidat, A. A., & Shakman, L. (2014). Evidence-based practice. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 14(4), e537-e545.

Duke University Medical Centre Library and Archives (2018). What is evidence-based practice (EBP)? Retrieved from https://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/c.php?g=158201&p=1036021

Hollis, K. F. (2016). To share or not to share: ethical acquisition and use of medical data. AMIA Summits on Translational Science Proceedings, 2016, 420-427.

Ozair, F. F., Jamshed, N., Sharma, A., & Aggarwal, P. (2015). Ethical issues in electronic health records: A general overview. Perspectives in Clinical Research, 6(2), 73-76. https://doi.org/10.4103/2229-3485.153997

World Health Organization (2017). Q&A: Ethics in public health surveillance. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/features/qa/surveillance-ethics/en/