Authors

  1. Cady, Rebecca F. JD, BSN, RNC, Attorney-at-Law, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Article Content

This issue presents a focus on ethics. The 2 research articles provide useful insight into the perceptions and opinions of nurses regarding ethical issues. Our regular ethics column this month focuses on the conflicts that can arise when a patient requests advocacy services from personnel in the facility. This month's CE feature deals with the legal rules regarding our ethical duty to maintain patient privacy in the form of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy regulations. HIPAA continues to be a frequent topic of discussion and hand wringing in the healthcare field. We are collecting data on facilities' experiences within the first 12 months of implementation of the privacy rules and would love to have your input. If enough data can be gathered, we plan to do a focus issue next spring presenting these findings and sharing hints and suggestions from other nurse managers as to how they have dealt with the additional burden of meeting the new HIPAA requirements. If you have ideas for other focused issues, we would be glad to hear them.

  
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