Final answer:
Breaches of a patient's confidence may result in lawsuits for invasion of privacy and breach of confidentiality. The HIPAA law mandates strict confidentiality of patient records, making unauthorized disclosures potentially illegal. Ethical considerations also play a significant role, especially when disclosing information could protect others from harm.
Step-by-step explanation:
Breaches of a patient's confidence may result in suits for invasion of privacy and breach of confidentiality. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), businesses, including insurance companies and healthcare providers, are mandated to protect patient information diligently. However, ethical dilemmas arise when such confidentiality may conflict with others' right to know about potential risks to their health, such as in cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
From a legal standpoint, without a patient's consent, disclosing information could lead to lawsuits. A healthcare provider contacting a patient's sexual partners without consent may be seen as a HIPAA violation. Conversely, from an ethical perspective, some may argue that the right to privacy may be overridden by the duty to warn others of significant health risks.
The severity of an STD may also play a role in the discussion about whether to breach confidentiality, but HIPAA does not make allowances for different severities of conditions when it comes to privacy. Additionally, when dealing with minors, healthcare professionals face the challenge of balancing adolescents' desire for confidentiality and parents' right to know about their child's health issues.
Moreover, widespread concerns about data breaches and identity theft emphasize the need for stringent security measures to preserve trust in institutions like banks, hospitals, and the government. Incidents such as the iCloud hacking scandal in 2014 highlight the risk to personal privacy beyond just the healthcare sector.