Legal and Ethical Issues: Technology Use
1. Present a legal or ethical dilemma involving the use of technology of which you have been aware in the last 6 months. Write a brief paragraph to summarize the situation.
2. Utilizing the role of the DNP prepared nurse leader, apply principles of leadership and professional identity to formulate an action plan to address the dilemma. What risk mitigation and security strategies might reduce misuse and protect health information? Share two or three specific elements to address this issue.
3. What cultural or generational issues play a role in the scenario you have discussed? Could the identified issue occur outside of the nursing profession? If so, how could you support other health care professionals in preventing this dynamic from occurring?
Utilizing the role of a DNP prepared nurse leader, an action plan can be formulated to address this dilemma by creating policies that outline what is and isn’t acceptable behavior when it comes to using technology for patient care. Further steps could include ensuring secure password protocols are used for all accounts containing confidential patient information, having clear guidelines on appropriate forms of communication with patients (in text/email or through secure systems like health records), as well as providing training sessions on basic cybersecurity measures such as avoiding phishing schemes or malicious links sent via email.
Cultural and generational issues play a major role in this scenario since they affect how people approach and understand technology-related topics; younger generations may not be aware of certain risks associated with using online tools while older generations may not feel comfortable using them at all. To prevent these dynamics from occurring outside of nursing profession, organizations should work towards educating other healthcare professionals about potential risks posed by technology misuse so that everyone is better able to recognize warning signs before any damage is done.