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 always secure. Computers, laptops, phones all can be breached and
have important data that can be detrimental if the wrong person or people got a hold of it. (Bowie
& Green, 2018). e 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 do not
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. Cyber
security and data breaches are a constant threat when dealing with portable devices and having
patient hand facility information on them. In the military we conduct annual training on how to
use and safeguard organizational data, and how to report missing devices. For Scenario 2, the best
option is to report the lost laptop as soon as possible and face the consequences. With this early
reporting the company might be able to remote erase the information, and the penalty could be
less. In 2015 the Texas Medical Association stated that the number one reason for patient data
breaches is from lost or stolen devices (HIPAA: Are You Prepared for a lost Laptop or Smartphone?
n.d.). With these breaches it has cost in 2020 was $7.1M according to IBM (Average Cost of
Healthcare Data Breach Rises to $7.1M, according to IBM Report, n.d.). With loss of health
information if found by the wrong person it could be held for ransom, patients could have their
identities stolen, and facilities could be fined for loss of patient information. In my personal
experience the laptop is the responsibility of the individual that checked it out from the facility,
even though the colleague was asked, it was my responsibility to safeguard the laptop. In thinking
about ethics and policy, the policy is to call tech support and report the breach, this is a direct
course of action that needs to be taken in this event. Ethics will be how important I would view
the lost laptop, and when will I decide to report that it is missing. My colleague again is not
responsible for anything that is missing, even though I asked her to look after my items. For those
that have been inside an airport heard the saying, “do not leave your bags unattended, and do not
take responsibility of any bags that are not yours. “If I disregard the organizations policy and wait
to call IT while I look, this could make the breach worst. The IT might not have enough time to
wipe the system clean before patient information is stolen. It will be easy to say it is not your fault
and that you believe you will find the item, but every minute that passes is a potential for a major
data breach. With a loss of electronic devices, we will have our access revoked, we could also have
our actioned questioned in that did we lose the device or was sold. If the person that lost it has
debt, or has bad spending habits or been reprimanded before, it can be perceived that the loss
was intentional. This is not a good light to be viewed and could lead to loss of security clearance if
protocol is not followed. Loss of trust for an organization that handles patient or company data,
finances, and other high-level information could cost not only loss of faith, but also employment.
Legal and ethical issues form an important component of modern research, related to the subject
and researcher (Sng et al., 2016). e Scenario number one has several challenges including the ethical
issue of removing data from a study and accepting grant money under false pretences. e Another
challenge that may be present is being involved in the removal of pertinent data more than an
ethics issue. e During data collection for research conducted by any medical provider or researcher,
the participant must be willing to release all needed information for the study. e Consent is then
collected to ensure information can be utilized. e If information is removed intentionally from a
research study it will yield results that are biased. e Research studies done to determine resolutions
for issues within the healthcare system must be unbiased and all true results should be analysed
and discussed. e Poorly conducted studies violate the principle of justice, as there are time and
resources wastage for research sponsors, researchers, and subjects, and undermine the societal
trust on scientific enquiry (Mutch, 2011). Ethics appears more concerned with theoretical
reflections, whereas health policies direct concrete courses of action; yet, ethics loses its purpose if
it does not guide specific, applicable policies (Petrini, 2010). e Both policy and ethics can be related,
especially when determining how to respond to one’s actions. e Ethics deals with a code of conduct
based on established moral principles (Weiss, 2019). e An organization's ethics and policy should
line up with each other. Occasionally, the two are not intertwined, which causes issues with the
culture or an organization. Recognizing ethics as an opportunity, public policy must align with
scientific and ethical standards (Petrini, 2010). If individual ethics do not align with organizational
policy, the individual may not believe the policy is essential. In scenario two, the severity of
misplacing or losing a laptop may not seem detrimental. Health data breaches have cost private
companies multi-million dollars. e If an individual’s ethics does not match the policy, the individual
could ruin a company for neglectful actions. e e e
References
Mutch, W. A. C. (2011). Academic fraud: perspectives from a lifelong anaesthesia researcher.
Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia/Journal Canadien D’anesthésie, 58(9), 782–788.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12630-011-9523-5
Petrini, C. (2010). ETHICS-BASED PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY? American Journal of Public Health,
100(2), 197–198. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2009.181511
Sng, B., Yip, C., & Han, N.-L. (2016). Legal and ethical issues in research. Indian Journal of
Anaesthesia, 60(9), 684. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5049.190627
Weiss, M. J. M. J. (2019). Medical ethics. Magill’s Medical Guide (Online Edition).
West, K. (2014). Patient medical information at risk from stolen computers. Missouri Medicine,
111(1), 10–12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6179506/
Average cost of healthcare data breach rises to $7.1M, according to IBM report. (n.d.). Fierce
Healthcare. https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/average-cost-healthcare-data-breach-rises-to-
7-1m-according-to-ibm-report
HIPAA: Are You Prepared for a Lost Laptop or Smartphone? (n.d.). Www.texmed.org.
https://www.texmed.org/HIPAALostLaptop/
Bowie, M. J., & Green, M. A. (2018). Essentials of health information management: Principles and
practices. Cengage Learning.
