Reference no: EM133542704

1. Discuss Case Example: "An outbreak of an infectious disease leads public health officials to believe that a bio-terror attack has occurred. To avoid panic in the public, however, they have made no public announcement of their suspicions. Hospital officials have requested, however, that nurses be on the alert for new cases of the infectious disease and to report it to them immediately, along with certain information about the patient" (Veenema, 2013)

Would you participate?

How does HIPAA affect what is reported in a suspected bio-terror attack?

Defend your answers.

2. Discuss Case Example: "Because public health officials suspect a "stealth" bio-terror attack, they request hospitals secretly test all of their new patients for the suspected contagious disease. The patient is to be notified only if he/she tests positively for the disease, and he/she will be offered standard treatment. Reports are to go directly to public health officials" (Veneema, 2013).

Can a nurse legally or ethically participate in such a program?

How do you feel about testing patients without their knowledge?

Explain your answers.

3. Discuss Case Example: "The local TV news carries a story that a rash of human-to-human transmission cases of avian flu has occurred in the region, resulting in five deaths to date. Nurses and other staff are beginning to call in "sick." When contacted by supervisors, the nurses admit they are afraid to come in to work because of fears of a possible pandemic and the danger of spreading flu to their families - as health care workers, they received vaccinations, but their families were not similarly protected" (Veneema, 2013).

What legal recourse does a hospital have if staff refuses to work during a public health crisis?

What liability does the institution face if it operates in the absence of adequate staff?

What ethical issues does calling in sick raise for the nurse and the institution?

If a nurse feels that responding to a disaster would put them at personal risk, is that nurse ethically obligated to respond?