If there is anything I have learned it is that you never leave any work equipment
unattended for scenarios like this. The challenges being presented in this scenario is, if it
belongs to you then you are responsible, no matter what happens. In the instance where I
had to use the restroom, I cannot assume that someone else will take care of my
belongings the same as myself. Policy states all business property should be secure at all
times. Computers, laptops, phones all have the ability to be breached and have important
data that can be detrimental if the wrong person or people got a hold of it. (Bowie &
Green, 2018). The equipment should have been wrapped up and taken with the person it is
assigned to. In a perfect world where everyone is ethically compliant, the colleague would
have treated my belongings as their own and ensured that it was protected in my absence.
However, I should not have assumed so. By losing an item which holds so much
information it poses a threat that someone’s information getting out. For example, health
insurance companies have access to the social security numbers of their members, their
address, phone number, medical information, etc. The loss of this information can be
detrimental to anyone – this can also lead to one person losing confidence in the business.
One unsatisfied member can lead to many, which can snow ball into larger numbers. On
the other hand, the employer may lose confidence in me as the employee because I was
irresponsible with the business equipment. Ethics and policy can be questioned here in a
sense of, did ‘I’ do what I should have to protect the information of people I probably
don’t even know. As an employee, you take an oath in a sense of knowing your
responsibilities to the business and the people served by the business. Policy and ethics do
not always align because when policies are being created or rules are being put in place,
ethics may not fall in line.
References
Bowie, M. J., & Green, M. A. (2018). Essentials of health information management:
Principles and practices. Cengage Learning.
