A technologist who has completed a procedure on a patient leaves the area grumbling,"I hate to do AIDS patients because I am afraid of catching the disease." A member of the housekeeping staff hears the technologist and asks who the AIDS patient is so he can pass the information along to his coworkers for safety reasons.The technologist responds by giving the patient's name and room number.After the incident,housekeeping personnel refuse to clean the room.One person from housekeeping tells the story to members of the housekeeper's church,where the patient is also a church member.After learning of the patient's condition,the church asks the patient not to return to church.What type of complaint might be brought against the technologist?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Health care professionals have an obligation to maintain patient confidentiality and are required to keep all protected health information concerning the patient including diagnosis and prognosis in strictest confidence.This information should be shared only with persons who need to know and who have an authorized health care relationship with the patient or whom the patient has authorized to receive information.A breach of this confidentiality is cause for defamation.

A Technologist Who Has Completed a Procedure on a Patient