Reply to the below four discussion (100 words each )

limit the use of postings such as “I agree,” “I don’t know either,” “Ditto,” etc. These types of responses are not substantial and do not add to the conversation or knowledge development. Such responses, if made, will not count towards any assigned credit.

Discussion 1:

The American Health Information Management Code of Ethics sets forth values principles and ethical guidelines to be followed by health information management professionals. One principle states that a health information management professional shall,

“Put service and the health welfare of persons before self-interest and conduct oneself in the practice of the profession so as to bring honor to oneself, peers, and to health information management profession”

In a way, data analysts who handle patient information are health information professionals. The outcomes of their analysis “put service and the health welfare of persons before self-interest”. In my perspective, this is true because data analysis in the public health involve analyzing available data to figure out which health methods are the most effective. Finding the most effective drug or treatment cuts off insurance, which we all know, not everyone in the United States, have access to. It will also cut off millions of dollars used in research which helps the public population.

Data analysts can also predict the risk of developing diseases based on patient demographics and medical history. This, again can hep the public health system to allocate resources in the right field which puts the majority of the population’s welfare above all.

Lastly, data analysist uses sentiment analysis. Patient feedback when it comes to primary care physicians, health professionals, treatment facilities, and hospitals are very important. It centers on patient experience and the quality of care, which, based on my experience, working at a sub-acute nursing home, is not necessarily the priority. I must admit that I have seen firsthand the politics of the health field, and it revolves around money. However, as data analysts, our results from aggregated data, produced by whichever technology we used, is the true result. Our outcomes and numbers from research cannot lie and thus adheres to the AHIMA.

Discussion 2:

“9. Advance health information management knowledge and practice through continuing education, research, publications, and presentations.” 1

The ninth principle of the AHIMA (2011) Code of Ethics applies to my perspective of data analytics because I personally feel that data analytics is always evolving to tackle new issues; therefore, there is always something new to learn. There will always be new projects to work on when it comes to using applied knowledge to understand different types of data sets, such as in the fields of science, healthcare, or even business.

You must be able to understand your goal for analysis, and to do the proper research to figure out which direction your data is going. This may even include providing necessary solutions for company objectives who want to see improvements in their data. More importantly, as a data analyst you also have to be able to pick the most easily understood and effective way of presenting this data accurately to achieve your goal, and possibly have to develop new ways of modeling it.

Specifically, the healthcare system is such a broad category, but it is extremely important because it contains tons of confidential information about an individual. So one must continue to learn new ways of handling sensitive materials because if they handle it incorrectly, data breaches could leak millions of patients’ information and leave them at risk for identity theft.

References

1. AHIMA Code of Ethics. AHIMA Code of Ethics / AHIMA, American Health Information Management Association. http://library.ahima.org/doc?oid=105098#.Xi41EchKhPa. Published 2011. Accessed January 27, 2020.

Discussion 3:

The four core principles of biomedical ethics are:

• Autonomy
  • This principle states that the patient have no pressure or sense of compulsion when making decisions that impact their health. The patient must also know the dangers of a procedure if any, and have full knowledge of any side effects. This principle puts the patient in the best position to help themselves without outward influence
  • Example: A patient making a decision to undertake an experimental procedure must understand the risks, outcomes, and what the procedure entails.
• Justice
  • This principal states that any research and experimental procedures be equally balanced across all groups of people in society, a sense of fairness. If a particular demographic is unable to partake due to means such as funding, decisions must be made to include them.
  • Example: One example of this is distribution of resources to patients based on availability & moral standing of the patient. If there are 2 patients, and one is a criminal, morally speaking the innocent should receive the best care.
• Beneficence
  • This principle simply states that if a patient is to undergo a procedure, that it be conducted with the intention of improving the patient’s well being. It also states that healthcare professionals do their due diligence to stay up to date with training’s, new technologies, and overall understanding of their field.
  • Example: An experimental procedure should not be conducted on a perfectly healthy patient, who possibly who was influenced by monetary gain.
• Non-maleficence
  • This principle states that no procedure should purposely cause any negative effects on the patient, and that healthcare professionals are taking every precaution to reduce the risk of harm.
  • Example: One example I read about regarding this principle, was the idea of infertility. Researchers should never release a drug or procedure that can cause infertility whether by individual instances, or something that would impact mass groups of people.

Discussion 4:

According to Stanford , the four core principles of biomedical ethics, with respective situational examples are:

1. Autonomy: the patient is mentally capable of making informed decisions regarding his or her health knowing the risks and the benefits, without coercion or coaxing, or in simpler terms, free will.
   1. A patient suffering from gangrene, and diabetes is at a significant risk of getting both of his legs amputated. Some of his toes are already cut off including some of his fingers. He was made aware that drinking soda and continuing to tobacco smoking will speed up the process of getting both of his legs cut off. This invokes frustration to his medical team.
2. Justice: the burdens and the benefits of a new treatment must be equally distributed to every person in society. Four areas of justice that a bioethicist must consider are fair distribution of scarce resources, competing needs, rights and obligations, and potential conflicts with established legislation
   1. A sub-acute physical rehabilitation has two pending admissions one night. Unfortunately, they only have one available wheelchair. One of the patients is a bilateral amputee while the other patient has extreme edema on both legs. Both patients have doctor appointments the following morning. It is too late to call transport for a wheelchair since the appointments have been scheduled weeks in advance.
3. Beneficence: Health care providers should always strive to provide the best procedures, and treatments for the benefit of the patient by maintaining skills, knowledge, and continually taking updated training.
   1. A nurse in training waiting for her New Jersey license was asked to work on a night shift at a nursing home. The nurse who was training her that night went on a thirty-minute break but has not gone back for an hour and would not answer calls. A patient’s call bell was ringing, and the patient was asking for her IV machine to be unhooked. The patient is very agitated and has been waiting for the nurse in charge to be back. The nurse in training knows how to do the procedure, and wants to help the patient, but her licensure status prevents her from doing so.
4. Non-maleficence: This is the do-no harm principle where health care providers must strive not to harm the patient.
   1. A patient went to a women’s facility to get an abortion. The provider knows the patient has a history of getting infection from her first one. The patient is insistent knowing this.

Source:

1. Johnson A. What Are The Basic Principles of Medical Ethics? Medical Ethics 101. https://web.stanford.edu/class/siw198q/websites/re… Ways of Making Babies/EthicVoc.htm. Accessed February 2, 2020.