Administrative Ethics Paper: Medical Marijuana Essay Sample

A current administrative issue associating to subjects such as patient privateness. confidentiality. or HIPAA is as follow. A specific issue that was in the intelligence is the privateness rights as applied to the patients who use medical marihuana. This issue involves the information that medical marihuana is allowable in some provinces harmonizing to those province Torahs. This means that 1000s of patients will be allowed to entree marihuana for medical intent every bit long as it is recommended by their doctors. With this issue in consequence I believe that 1000s of these people will hold their independency and privateness in hazard because if province jurisprudence permits the usage of marihuana and federal jurisprudence does non allow it. the patients will be perpetrating offenses harmonizing to federal jurisprudence and this can be an decidedly jeopardize a patients freedom. All activities at medical marihuana dispensaries are frequently surveillance and this puts patient’s confidentiality in danger. An extra issue that I’m concerned about due to the medical marihuana is the manner in which the jurisprudence is written in mention to the medical marihuana. Each province has its ain Torahs refering medical marihuana and there is a disagreement with privateness issues to the manner that the Torahs are transcribed and the possible hazard that patients are suiting sing their privateness rights.

An case where medical marihuana Torahs are non clarified is the new amendments to those Torahs which place limitations and footings that result in patient privateness being exposed. Patient privateness should be enforced at all times harmonizing to the HIPAA Torahs and should be upheld unless the patient provides consent in let go ofing their medical information. In January of 2011. the Department of Revenue Licensing Authority in Colorado held an unrestricted hearing to get the public point of view about the current and proposed amendments to Colorado medical marihuana Torahs. As I thought. one originating issue that came approximately was that under the proposed amendments. surveillance of patients recovering their medical marihuana will set their privateness and condemnable record in danger. Since the proposed amendment would let go of patient medical history to assorted people such as the county clerks and other metropolis functionaries this would be see a breach in confidentiality. privateness and is besides contradictory with the HIPAA Torahs. With the HIPAA Torahs. all patients’ medical records should be kept confidential unless the patients’ consent to the release of their medical information.

In Colorado under the amendment to the medical marihuana Torahs the patients’ records are available to assorted people without the patients consent even though the Colorado electors argue that they voted for maximal protection of the privateness of the province medical marihuana patients. In 2000 under Ballot step 20. the electors of Colorado decided that the act of unwraping any confidential information or records without patients’ permission would be punishable by a category one misdemeanour charge. There are legion ethical and legal issues which are conveyed from this issue. With this issue there are inconsistent positions from the populace. so it is disputing to find what is ethical on a societal graduated table. The legal issue that we are faced with is that even when the province jurisprudence authorizes something. federal jurisprudence can overturn the province Torahs and legal action can be taken. This action can let patients’ to be at hazard of being categorized and perchance even charged as a felon. even though it is legal by province jurisprudence. Ethically this concern is non set in rock and can be changed at any clip. There are people who are supportive of the medical marihuana Torahs and others who are non.

For a medical marihuana patient it is most decidedly unethical to unwrap medical information to another beginning without proper consent even though others are nonsubjective that the medical records of patients utilizing medical marihuanas should non be protected under the same HIPAA Torahs as other patients because marihuana is still considered illegal under federal jurisprudence and accordingly federal offenses are being committed. I strongly believe that this issue will be an ongoing issue because of the many struggles. even though there have been several proposed solution to the many issues that different provinces trades with after go throughing medical marihuana Torahs. There was a solution passed into jurisprudence in Maine on June of 2011. This helped to loosen the rigorous Torahs on medical marihuana in that province and it helped to implement and guarantee the privateness rights of those patients’ . Harmonizing to the new measure. there are several key points which are indispensable to protect patients’ privateness. One of the solutions states that a common jurisprudence in medical marihuana provinces that patients’ must register with the province to acquire medical marihuana. Under the new Maine jurisprudence. registering with the province is non compulsory. but protecting patient privateness is.

In add-on to Maine Torahs. the following of import portion of the jurisprudence states that doctors can now urge medical marihuana for any type of complaints and diseases that the physician sees fit. Patients with serious and painful diseases can now acquire alleviation in the signifier of medical marihuanas merely if the doctor recommends/prescribes it. The concluding of import portion of the new Maine medical marihuana Torahs is that states or municipalities can no longer make Torahs and ordinances which struggles with province Torahs. What I have learned from composing this paper is to retrieve that everyone information should be considered as top secret. Following HIPAA Torahs is one of the ways to protect patient’s medical information to guarantee privateness and complete confidentiality. With medical marihuana patients the same regard should use to their medical records by merely following the necessary guidelines to guarantee patient privateness.

Mentions

Americans for safe entree Retrieved from
hypertext transfer protocol: //www. Safeaccessnow. org/article. php? id=6258 retrieved on September 23. 2012

Freedom is green. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //freedomisgreen. com/privacy-improvements-for medical-marijuana-patients-in-Maine/ retrieved on September 23. 2012

The Huffington station Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //huffingtonpost. com/steph-sherer/patient-privacy-should-be_b_814793. hypertext markup language