If a nurse discloses a patient's HIV status to a friend, what is the nurse guilty of?

• A. Violating information security
• B. Information by consent
• C. Breach of confidentiality
• D. Nothing; this is not illegal

Answer: (C)

Maintaining patient confidentiality is a fundamental duty for nurses. When a nurse discloses a patient’s HIV status to a friend, they reveal protected health information to someone who has no legitimate need to know it. This violates the patient’s privacy and the professional obligation to keep health information confidential, and it isn’t permitted without the patient’s explicit consent. The issue isn’t about protecting data within a computer system (information security) but about sharing sensitive information with an unauthorized person. Without patient consent for that disclosure, there is a breach of confidentiality, which carries ethical and legal implications and can harm the patient.