Ethics of privacy
Debate when patient privacy should yield to public-health needs, and defend your view.
Written CER (3-5 sentences) arguing when patient privacy should yield to public-health needs, with a reference to HIPAA or mandatory reporting and a trust-based reasoning sentence.
- 1Do thisDebate when patient privacy should yield to public-health needs, and defend your view.
- 2Use this resource
- 3Submit thisCER: Written CER (3-5 sentences) arguing when patient privacy should yield to public-health needs, with a reference to HIPAA or mandatory reporting and a trust-based reasoning sentence.
- 4Submit it here
- 1CMSD website. Go to clevelandmetroschools.org and click the Clever button.
- 2Clever. Clever opens. Sign in if it asks.
- 3Microsoft (district) login. Use your district Microsoft account (the one for school).
- 4Schoology. Open Schoology, then your class, then Assignments, and find the file named below.
The file to submit is named: Principles of Biomedical Technology (Principles of Biomedical Science) › Unit 2.1 Talk to Your Doc: Clinical communication, patient history, privacy, vital signs, homeostasis, EMR thinking. › CEROpen Schoology
Read to prepare for today
Vetted sources picked for today's question. Skim these before you take a position or start the work, so your argument and evidence are grounded.
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning — make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure — the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities — you open it through Schoology.
Minute-by-minute · 80-minute block
💡 Big idea: HIPAA protects individual medical privacy, but public-health law creates specific exceptions that reveal the tension between individual rights and collective safety.
- 0:00Hook: describe a real scenario where a doctor faced mandatory reporting vs. patient confidentiality
- 0:08Brief overview of HIPAA: what it covers, what it does not, and when exceptions apply
- 0:20Read the ethics prompt; list one case for strict privacy and one for justified disclosure
- 0:32Small-group debate: connect position to trust in the doctor-patient relationship
- 0:54Individual CER writing: position, evidence, reasoning
- 1:10Share two CERs; preview Tuesday vital-signs content
- • Imagine you are a doctor and your patient tells you they have a highly contagious disease but refuses to tell their family. Do you break confidentiality? What if dozens of people are at risk?
- • HIPAA says you generally cannot share patient information without consent. But public-health law says you sometimes must. These two laws exist in tension, and health professionals navigate that tension every day.
- • The trust question is real: if patients fear their information will be shared, they may withhold information their doctor needs for safe treatment.
- • Pick a side today. Wednesday we move from the ethics to the actual measurement tools: vital signs and how we document them.
- 1Read the prompt: Should a doctor ever share patient information without consent?
- 2List one case for strict privacy and one for disclosure.
- 3Choose a side and connect it to trust in the doctor-patient relationship.
- 4Argue your claim in your group with one reason and one example.
- 5Post a written CER with your position and reasoning.
- • I can weigh privacy against public-health interests.
- • I can defend a position with reasoning.
- • HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) requires covered entities to protect individually identifiable health information and limits disclosure without patient authorization.
- • Mandatory reporting laws require disclosure of certain conditions (e.g., communicable diseases, gunshot wounds) to public-health authorities, overriding HIPAA in defined situations.
- • Patient trust is foundational to clinical communication: if patients fear disclosure, they may withhold information that is critical to their own care.
Your PLTW work today
Unit 2.1 Talk to Your Doc: Clinical communication, patient history, privacy, vital signs, homeostasis, EMR thinking. · Ethics of privacy
Day 1 of this lesson. Open this exact section in myPLTW (reached through Schoology), then do the work below.
Do this: Log in to myPLTW and open Lesson 2.1 Talk to Your Doc. Read the unit overview before Tuesday.
Mark the Lesson 2.1 overview task complete in myPLTW.
You finished Unit 1 last week. Today starts Unit 2 Clinical Care with Lesson 2.1 Talk to Your Doc. The overview reading should be done by the end of today.
myPLTW screenshot showing the Lesson 2.1 Talk to Your Doc overview task marked complete.
All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment — this page only gives direction. Submit producibles on Schoology.
Today's PLTW tracker
Check things off as you work, then submit. This tells Mr. Mendoza how you're doing so he can help the class. It does not replace turning in your producible on Schoology.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
Unit 2.1 Talk to Your Doc: Clinical communication, patient history, privacy, vital signs, homeostasis, EMR thinking. · Ethics of privacy
Log in to myPLTW and open Lesson 2.1 Talk to Your Doc. Read the unit overview before Tuesday.
You finished Unit 1 last week. Today starts Unit 2 Clinical Care with Lesson 2.1 Talk to Your Doc. The overview reading should be done by the end of today.
This is how Mr. Mendoza sees the class keeping pace with PLTW. Be honest, it only helps if it is accurate.
🎯 Debate when patient privacy should yield to public-health needs, and defend your view.
- Read the prompt: Should a doctor ever share patient information without consent?
- List one case for strict privacy and one for disclosure.
- Choose a side and connect it to trust in the doctor-patient relationship.
- Argue your claim in your group with one reason and one example.
- Post a written CER with your position and reasoning.
CER: Written CER (3-5 sentences) arguing when patient privacy should yield to public-health needs, with a reference to HIPAA or mandatory reporting and a trust-based reasoning sentence.
Submit on SchoologyUpload by 11:29 PM for full credit.
| Task | Who |
|---|---|
| Read the prompt: Should a doctor ever share patient information without consent? | _______ |
| List one case for strict privacy and one for disclosure. | _______ |
| Choose a side and connect it to trust in the doctor-patient relationship. | _______ |
| Argue your claim in your group with one reason and one example. | _______ |
| Post a written CER with your position and reasoning. | _______ |
Working solo? Put your own name in "Who" for every row.
- I can weigh privacy against public-health interests.
- I can defend a position with reasoning.
Resources & readings
Hand-picked materials for this lesson. Class file items open the document directly; the rest are vetted readings and interactives from other biomedical programs.
Lab & supplies
This unit's vocabulary
Tap the speaker to hear a term. Weekly vocabulary task: add two of these terms to your notebook glossary with a definition and an example in your own words.
WebXam practice
Cumulative WebXam review
A quick mixed-review pulling questions from earlier units plus today, so the WebXam material stays fresh.
Where this leads — careers
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
What to do if you were absent
Watch the recorded privacy-ethics prompt and post a written CER on when patient privacy should yield to public-health needs.
John Carroll Philosophy for ChildrenThen submit your CER on Schoology.
Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
MedlinePlus: Vital Signs- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedTurned in the right way (Schoology for routine work) and confirmed.
Drop your Tue, Sep 29, 2026 · Ethics of privacy here. Use a clear file name (your initials + project). Routine work still goes to Schoology (via the CMSD portal).
Upload a project