Unit 9 Final Project: Ethical Issues Requesting Mental Health

Unit 9 Final Project

Mental health involves psychological, emotional and social well-being. It dictates how we feel, think and behave. It can determine how we deal with stress, relate to other people and make decisions. Mental health is important in all parts of someone’s life, from childhood through adulthood.
There are a lot of local agencies that people can call if they are in need of services for someone with a developmental disability. Some agencies will provide help to people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, and they offer a many different services: Home care, housekeeping, respite, transportation, counseling, health services and even help building wheelchair ramps.
Some reasons for requesting mental health and
In essence, the physician 's duty to maintain confidentiality means that a physician may not disclose any medical information revealed by a patient or discovered by a physician in connection with the treatment of a patient. In general, AMA 's Code of Medical Ethics states that the information disclosed to a physician during the course of the patient-physician relationship is confidential to the utmost degree. As explained by the AMA 's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, the purpose of a physician 's ethical duty to maintain patient confidentiality is to allow the patient to feel free to make a full and frank disclosure of information to the physician with the knowledge that the physician will protect the confidential nature of the information disclosed. Full disclosure enables the physician to diagnose conditions properly and to treat the patient appropriately. In return for the patient 's honesty, the physician generally should not reveal confidential communications or information without the patient 's express consent unless required to disclose the information by law. There are exceptions to the rule, such as where a patient threatens bodily harm to himself or herself or to another person (AMA,
Safeguarding the confidentiality of such information is a significant issue for any hospital or other health care entity that keeps patient medical records to maintain patient confidence and to avoid liability. Because damages could ensue should inappropriate disclosure occur, patient records containing behavioral health, developmental disabilities, HIV, and substance abuse information must be handled with special attention, in accordance with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations. Individuals involved in health information management should be well-informed about patient confidentiality requirements overall and should also track these areas carefully to develop and implement appropriate policies and procedures governing the release of patient information. The purpose of this paper is to provide such individuals with an overview of the applicable state and federal rules and regulations for these highly protected areas to assist in policy and procedure. While federal laws are consistent for all states, individual state rules and regulations do vary to some extent (U&H,