Ethics, Cyber Ethics and Security in Healthcare: Balancing Patient Care and Data Protection (Discussion)

Ethics, Cyber Ethics, and Security (Week 9 Discussion)

In recent years, hackers have targeted medical records, from hospitals and other healthcare institutions, across the country. These records contain personal information, contact information, and most importantly, for the hackers, information that may prove useful in stealing an identity. Thus, healthcare organizations have made it a priority to protect patient records and privacy. However, with the influx of technological advancements and hacker determination, there is no perfect way to ensure that all records are secure and safe.

In addition to medical records, privacy concerns are relevant with any patient chart in any setting. For example, a chart left open on a computer monitor in a patient room, employee passwords and log-in information, and new employee access and screening all represent other ways in which ethics and security merge in healthcare and nursing practice.

Post a cohesive response: What are the key challenges that healthcare practitioners encounter when balancing patient care with the requirement for stringent data protection? How can healthcare organizations ensure patient confidentiality while effectively leveraging digital tools to enhance care delivery?

Original example for study purposes (about 560 words).

Protecting patient information is both an ethical duty and a security requirement. The ANA Code of Ethics commits nurses to protecting patient privacy and confidentiality (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2025), and HIPAA requires administrative, physical and technical safeguards for electronic health information. The stakes are high. In 2024, 663 large health data breaches were reported to the Office for Civil Rights, exposing the information of more than 242 million people, and hacking caused 81% of them (Paubox, 2025). The ransomware attack on Change Healthcare alone affected about 192.7 million individuals and disrupted pharmacy and claims processing nationwide.

Key challenges

Speed of care versus security controls. Nurses need information instantly, yet security measures such as complex passwords, frequent logins and automatic screen timeouts slow them down. When controls feel like barriers, staff develop workarounds: staying logged in on a shared workstation, sharing credentials or writing passwords on sticky notes. A chart left open on a monitor in a patient room is a typical result of busy workflows colliding with security rules.

Human error and social engineering. Most breaches involve people. Phishing emails, phone calls pretending to be IT support and lost devices exploit busy clinicians. Healthcare and public health reported more cyber threats than any other critical infrastructure sector in the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report (Alder, 2026).

Inappropriate access. Electronic records make it easy to look up a coworker, neighbor or celebrity patient. Even well-meaning curiosity violates confidentiality and can lead to termination.

Expanding digital tools. Patient portals, telehealth, secure messaging, mobile devices and connected medical equipment improve care but create more entry points for attackers. New employees, travel nurses and students also need fast access, which makes onboarding and access screening difficult.

Downtime as a patient safety risk. When ransomware shuts down an EHR, nurses lose access to medication histories, orders and results, which can delay care and increase errors.

Ensuring confidentiality while using digital tools

• Make security fast: badge-tap or biometric single sign-on, proximity-based logoff and privacy screens reduce the temptation to bypass controls.
• Role-based, least-privilege access with automated audit logs that flag unusual record access, and prompt removal of access when staff leave.
• Ongoing education and phishing simulations tailored to clinical scenarios, with a no-blame culture for reporting mistakes.
• Multifactor authentication, encryption and timely patching of devices and software, plus offline backups and practiced downtime procedures.
• Involve nurse informaticists in selecting and configuring systems so that security fits clinical workflow. Usability is a security control.
• Teach patients to use portals safely and confirm identity before sharing information by phone.

Connection to clinical practice and nursing informatics

In my practice, ethics and security meet at the bedside: I lock my screen before turning to a patient, I never share my login and I verify callers before giving information. Nursing informatics helps translate these principles into systems that protect privacy without slowing care (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022). When organizations design security with clinicians rather than for them, they can use digital tools to improve care while keeping patients’ trust.

References

Alder, S. (2026, April 8). 2025 losses to cybercrime exceeded $20 billion. The HIPAA Journal. https://www.hipaajournal.com/fbi-internet-crime-complaint-report-2025/

American Nurses Association. (2025). Code of ethics for nurses. https://codeofethics.ana.org

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Paubox. (2025). OCR reports 242 million records exposed in 2024. https://paubox.com/blog/ocr-reports-242-million-records-exposed-in-2024