Final answer:
The statement regarding a nurse's adherence to patient confidentiality in line with HIPAA rules is true. HIPAA requires confidentiality in patient information, with exceptions for clinical necessity or care provision. Balancing patient privacy with public health needs, especially concerning electronic health records and partners' rights to know, is critical and complex. The correct option is A.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that a nurse adheres to the concept of confidentiality when there is a clinical reason for reading the record or is assigned to the patient and following HIPAA rules is true. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which was passed into law in 1996, mandates the safeguarding of patient information by businesses and healthcare providers.
Healthcare workers are required to maintain strict confidentiality concerning patient records, only accessing them if necessary for the care of the patient to whom they are specifically assigned or if there is a legitimate clinical reason to do so.
When considering whether the privacy of a patient or the right to know of a sexual partner is more important ethically, it is a complex assessment that weighs individual privacy against public health concerns.
Healthcare providers must navigate between preserving the patient’s confidentiality rights and the potential need to inform others of risks to their health, which can depend on various factors such as the severity of the disease. Directly contacting a patient's sexual partner without consent can indeed be a violation of HIPAA rules.
When considering exceptions to the Freedom of Information Act, one reasonable exception includes medical records for government employees, which helps protect individual privacy. Additionally, the sharing of digital records among health providers is proposed as a means to improve healthcare quality and reduce costs, but this must be balanced with the need to protect the privacy of electronic health records.