Evaluate HMH’s alternatives from both an ethical and a legal perspective, including consideration of the federal HIPAA privacy rule. Also, decide whether the current law should be clarified or amended. Be prepared to explain the reasons for your conclusions.

In the three months since the first newspaper report about Long’s allegations, HMH has experienced a severe drop in visits by patients who have coverage through commercial health insurance or employer-based health plans. It appears that a substantial majority of those insured patients have chosen to receive care at the for-profit hospital in the county or at hospitals in other counties. HMH relies heavily on those insured patients to subsidize its indigent care and its losses on Medicaid patients. HMH has determined that it will be unable to pay all of its operating expenses if this situation continues for another six months.

The CEO of HMH attempted to communicate with Long in an effort to resolve the matter or, at least, obtain his consent to allow HMH to release his medical record to the local newspaper. The CEO even suggested that it might be possible to make a financial settlement with him, in exchange for a neutral press release that would be acceptable to both sides. However, Long refused to discuss any type of settlement and refused to consent to the release of his medical record.

Finally, board member “D” argued that ethical considerations require disclosing Long’s history of delusional episodes, because the potential harm to Long from his loss of privacy is vastly outweighed by the greater good of preserving the community’s safety-net hospital, which is at serious risk of insolvency.

Evaluate HMH’s alternatives from both an ethical and a legal perspective, including consideration of the federal HIPAA privacy rule. Also, decide whether the current law should be clarified or amended. Be prepared to explain the reasons for your conclusions.