I read with interest an article in the Al-Riyadh Arabic daily about a dispute that took place between the public relations department of King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center and a relative of a patient admitted therein. The report accurately and in great detail described what took place and carried quotes including verbal abuse — something that made me wonder how the hospital’s PR department must be treating its patients behind close doors if this is the way it behaves in public.
I really don’t fancy writing about what happened and why it happened. I’d rather write about the important issue of hospitals violating the privacy and dignity of patients — a topic that is continually neglected and remains to be discussed. This is not a new issue; the privacy of patients has been violated on numerous occasions and will continue to be violated if left unregulated. The problem is worsened by the knowledge that many patients are left defamed when their private personal medical records are divulged. Even if a patient started a problem it is the duty of hospitals to exercise an air of professionalism by implementing policies and regulations that protect people’s privacy.
Perhaps the most strangest of things is the fact that the PR department admits violating regulations. “Despite the fact that on our first follow-up, in light of laws of confidentiality, we tried not to mention the patient’s case. In future instances, however, we had to. Our statements were clear explanations in response to the patient’s incorrect accusations about the gynecology department. We were required to clarify the circumstances and not allow readers to be misled with an incoherent version of events,” said the hospital authorities.
It is amazing to see a hospital publicly admit violating regulations and then justifying this by saying it wishes not to mislead readers. I would like to applaud the hospital and tell them that committing to principles is something fundamentally necessary. However, violating them and then justifying why you have violated them is something absolutely misleading and ethically wrong. If only we had strict laws and regulations similar to the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
The HIPAA addresses issues pertaining to patients’ rights to privacy. Standards set by the body are aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the US health care system. Under this act, anyone found guilty of disclosing private medical information could be fined tens of thousands of dollars and jailed for up to 10 years. The act establishes regulations for the use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI) — which includes information about a person’s health status, provision of health care and payments. Individuals who feel that the privacy rule is not being upheld can ultimately file a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights which would then take it further.
The Ministry of Health itself is not unaware of the necessity to exercise a sense of ethics and morality in treating members of the public. Previously, the ministry had asked its public clinics to publish the rights that patients have. Included in these rights is the rule that asserts complete confidentiality of a patient’s private records. These records cannot be divulged except in highly exceptional cases. Yet the morality and ethics that a medical institute hopes to incorporate fundamentally depends on how disciplined the institute is in stopping itself from violating rules and regulations.
We really need to codify the medical and health sectors by providing regulations and bylaws that everyone knows, understands and respects. Until we do not come up with such a system, the Ministry of Health needs to take the initiative of establishing a department in each of its hospitals and clinics that deal especially with the rights of patients, receive complaints and provide contact details for people to lodge their problems.
The National Society for Human Rights is a perfect example. It instantly responds to cases. I just hope that a similar committee dealing with the privacy and confidentiality of patients could be set up to look into cases in the health sectors.
