Health informatics: ethical issues.

Abstract

Ethics is a component of the education of health care mangers and supervisors. Recent advances in the technologies of health informatics present these leader with new ethical challenges. Holding the promise of beneficence, these technologies are purported to increase access, improve quality, and decrease the costs of care. Aspects of these technologies, however, create conflicts with the ethical principles of autonomy, fidelity, and justice. Infoethics is suggested as a means to examine these conflicts. A multipronged solution that incorporates adherence to regulations and standards, promotion of codes of conduct and ethics, and creation of a culture of infoethics is recommended.