Health Information Ethics in the Light of Two Prominent World Religions - Islam and Christianity

Abstract

Background: Health information is an integral part of the healthcare process. It constitutes the most importantinformation quantitatively handled by the healthcare system and the most relevant, qualitatively. It is in thisinformation that descriptions of care activities and production are based. Health information ethics deals withquestions of wrong and right, resulting from the use of both manual and technologies in managing patient’s healthrecords and health information. This paper reviews salient verses of the Scriptures directly related to healthinformation ethics.

Methods: Related verses of Al-Qur’ãn, Sunnah and the Bible were employed to support statements on healthinformation ethics.

Results: Healthcare providers have a duty to keep confidential, any information pertaining to the representation of apatient. This serves the purpose of encouraging patients to speak frankly about their reason for seeking care. Thepatients’ health records and hospital-held health information is a crucial tool in the management of patient’s healthand life processes. It is also a means to enhance medical evaluation, healthcare research and public health trusthowever, it is being threatened by woes of technological advancement and unethical behaviour of healthcareproviders/other stakeholders.

Conclusion: Al-Qurãn, the Sunnah and the Bible are the source of all knowledge. These scriptures have prescribedhow to responsibly and professionally protect patients’ health records and information. It is hoped that relevantstakeholders would go by the dictates in the Scriptures in order to restore the ethical values in health informationmanagement with a view to enhancing healthcare services and improving public health.