Privacy is an important ethical concern in health care. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) ensures patient access to health information and protects confidentiality of medical records. When communicable disease reporting results in increasing public awareness, such as in cases of Ebola among patients in the United States, there can be a loss of confidentiality if social media or other outlets promote stories about the individuals infected or the neighborhoods where they live.

In your opinion, should communicable disease reporting be required to include the names and neighborhoods of patients who are infected?

If so, are there ways that privacy can be improved when stories are leaked? When patient names or hospitals are 'leaked' to the media, should there be penalties assessed to the persons responsible for leaking confidential medical information, or penalties assessed to the media outlets who report the names and neighborhoods without written permission from the patients involved?

If not, how might local health care organizations work at the local level to treat patients and their neighborhoods without national attention? Is there a role for media outlets if communicable diseases are addressed locally?

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Communicable disease reporting is a complex issue that involves balancing public health interests with individual privacy rights While transparency an... View the full answer