Case I: The Blue Wall

Many patients and regulators have accused the hospital of neglecting its organizational responsibilities to respect patient rights. The hospital has established a so-called blue wall to withhold information and protect its employees. The administration and the ethics committee overseeing these ethical issues were accused of cover-up and making decisions that endangered vulnerable people. In most cases, the hospital has failed to meet its responsibilities to patients and to comply with regulations. Some of the violations are the following:

• Employees have exposed patient information to unauthorized people.
• Nurses have made unilateral decisions and ignored informed consent mandates.
• Administrators have covered up instances of medication errors and failed to meet regulatory compliance regarding the handling, storage, and retention of medical records.
• Visitors have found sensitive patient information in files left in hallways and on laptops left in patients’ rooms. Mobile devices containing patient information that doctors have claimed were missing have been found lying around in public areas.