Keywords

computers and patient privacy, disclosure of medical information, disclosure of nurse-patient communication

Authors

1. Cochran, Maureen PhD, RN

Abstract

Critical care nurses learn early in their careers that patient confidentiality is to be respected. Challenges to this belief come when public safety or justice seems to outweigh any individual's privacy. The resolution of the problem caused by such competing values may not be easy for a nurse and will necessarily demand examination of legal, ethical, and professional responsibilities.