Ethics In Healthcare Legislation
Ethics in providing Health Care/Insurance
Politics and Science go hand in hand on many issues due to the fact that the applications of Science and Medicine are vitally important to the national and global economy. Perhaps it is a good thing that we are constantly searching for new methods to better ourselves and the future for our progeny. However, it can be said that policy controls the use of technology and science and, therefore, these two tools bow to the lawmakers. Where it gets tricky is in defining the ethical issues of policy and science, specifically Health Care and Personal Medicine. The main area I want to concentrate on is Protecting Patient Privacy.
Protecting patient privacy is perhaps the most popular issue if not the most important. Patients have a right to keep details about their health private from most people even if not from, say, their insurance company or in some cases state or local governments. But how far does that right extend? Does it cover a person's genetic makeup? “Both environmental and genetic factors have roles in the development of any disease. A genetic disorder is a disease caused by abnormalities in an individual’s genetic material (genome)” (Human genome Project Information, 2003). Hence, genetics is something that undeniably influences health, and a large amount of information about what type of diseases a person has or is at risk for can be had from gene studies like what would be collected for personalized medicine services. How do you keep that information private and what uses are allowable? Currently there is legislation in place that protects individuals from certain discrimination. Namely, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This is limited protection, however. Here are a few items this legislation does not protect:
• Does not protect against discrimination based on unexpressed genetic conditions.
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