The active computerization of health care services has made some nurses believe that certain ethical issues are associated with their practice and nursing informatics. The necessity to use electronic health records and other databases in medical settings that include private data regarding patients creates certain challenges (Huston, 2019). Furthermore, nurses’ operations include the active use of a variety of electronic devices. The problem is that much attention should be paid to the security of data related to clients, and nurses should use these details carefully and according to specific guidelines (Huston, 2019). It is important to guarantee that only authorized users can access such data as electronic health records and patients’ history of diseases.
Ethical issues and legal problems can often be observed when nurses use sensitive data regarding patients inappropriately and do not follow security guidelines and policies. One should state that each nurse needs to receive training in the field of nursing informatics in order to ensure that the interests and rights of patients are protected. From this perspective, as it is necessary to effectively adopt technologies in the everyday practice of nurses, they can face some ethical issues and concerns (Huston, 2019). For example, these concerns include the necessity of working professional with patients’ electronic health records and the necessity of filling in reports and documents effectively, using computers. It is also important to prevent situations when anyone, not including medical staff and nurses, can receive access to patients’ data. In order to resolve these ethical concerns and challenges, nurses need to pay much attention to the development of their skills and capacities in using technologies and working with information available in a digital form.
Reference
Huston, C. J. (2019). Professional issues in nursing: Challenges and opportunities (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.