It is the obligation of healthcare practitioners to preserve patient privacy and confidentiality at all times. However, healthcare practitioners face diverse types and levels of privacy- and confidentiality-associated ethical dilemmas while dealing with specific types of patients. One such special case that presents ethical dilemmas on patient privacy and confidentiality is when a physician handles a criminal patient (Gardiner, 2003). The scenario becomes more complicated if it involves giving an emergency care to a patient who has been involved in a criminal act such as robbery, during which he or she has been shot or injured in some other ways. It is of the essence that physicians and other healthcare providers are conversant with the work …show more content…
For instance, a patient may be examined, only to reveal signs of past and recent IV drug use among other incriminating acts (Pauls et al., 2004). It presents the examining physician with myriad legal, ethical, and professional dilemmas on how to deal with such a patient. In another case, a patient may visit a physician with a wound that was suffered during a criminal act or, a robbery survivor with a gunshot wound may enter a health facility seeking the lodged bullet removed and his wounds sealed (Pauls et al., …show more content…
This theory postulates that the right course of action should be based on the fact that the outcomes of such an action are the best, if compared to the overlooked alternatives (Haynes, 2013). The decision made or action taken concerning patient privacy and confidentiality should be focused on the results and not the methods or techniques by which the outcome is to be achieved (Haynes, 2013). Physicians may consider the consequences or burdens of revealing patient information against that of not revealing the information to the relevant