Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You look at his file.
At first, it's good news. Your friend's son has injuries that aren't life-threatening. He has a broken leg and some lacerations. He'll be hospitalized for a short period of time.
But you get a little more information than you bargained for. You learn that the neighbor's son is HIV-positive and you know his mother isn't aware of that fact. You feel like a busybody for invading this young man's privacy and you feel guilty for knowing this information which is none of your business. You wish you'd kept your nose out of it.
You tell your neighbor her son's injuries aren't life-threatening, but she isn't convinced because she senses you are holding something back.
A few days later, the systems manager pays you a visit. The computer system has an audit trail and randomly checks to see who has accessed a record. A red flag went up when an individual from another institution accessed a patient's file for no apparent reason.
"An audit trail will show that you signed on, what terminal you used and what date you accessed the information," says Ginger Bjornstad, information systems coordinator at Children's Hospital in Utah.
You'd have some explaining to do. "We can go to that person and say, 'That was none of your business. When we hired you, you signed a non-disclosure agreement.' It's also part of your professional practice license not to be nosing around in somebody's information. And this is grounds for dismissal," says Bjornstad.
You've not only lost your friend, but you've lost your job and destroyed your career.