Mary has an ethical and legal responsibility to report her findings of the correlation of this rare bladder disease with workers who are employed at the manufacturing plant. While the state has a law that dictates when individuals should take action, Mary should be guided by ethics and her own beliefs to justify why she should report her findings (Candilis, 2002). As Neuberger and Swirsky (2017) indicate, healthcare professionals have a duty to protect the public and are required to comply with laws, such as the law in Colorado regarding environment diseases. Additionally, as a HIM professional Mary is responsible for following the AHIMA Code of Ethics, which includes cooperating with legal authorities, putting the welfare of others before themselves, and ensuring that all voices are heard (AHIMA, 2011). Therefore, as a HIM professional Mary should report the high incidence of these cases to advocate for the rights of these patients.
While Mr. King indicates that Mary’s chief role as a HIM manager is to protect …show more content…
The HMO should promote any activities that support the best interests of their patient population, even if it involves breaking patient confidentiality since the interests of the group take precedence over those of the individual. Legally, entities such as an HMO, may “disclose protected health information, without authorization, to public health authorities who are legally authorized to receive such reports for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). If the HMO had knowledge of this information and did not disclose it, the community would suffer more cases of this disease and would lose respect and trust in the organization, likely causing more damage than the loss of business from the manufacturing company if it was
While Mr. King indicates that Mary’s chief role as a HIM manager is to protect …show more content…
The HMO should promote any activities that support the best interests of their patient population, even if it involves breaking patient confidentiality since the interests of the group take precedence over those of the individual. Legally, entities such as an HMO, may “disclose protected health information, without authorization, to public health authorities who are legally authorized to receive such reports for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). If the HMO had knowledge of this information and did not disclose it, the community would suffer more cases of this disease and would lose respect and trust in the organization, likely causing more damage than the loss of business from the manufacturing company if it was