Mandatory Gunshot Wounds Reporting

Gunshot wound scenario
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If I was working at a busy downtown hospital and a client with a gunshot wound was brought in, I would report the case to the police. The Mandatory Gunshot Wounds Reporting Act of 2005 requires hospitals and healthcare facilities to inform the police when a patient comes in with a gunshot wound (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2019c, pp. 3-4). Additionally, the practice standards on confidentiality and privacy of personal information outline that a nurse has an ethical and legal responsibility to preserve the confidentiality of a patient’s health data. Nevertheless, it allows for sharing a client’s data as required by the law or to reduce a substantial risk of harm to the person (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2019a, pp. 7). Thus, since the 2005 Act mandates such information, and I may not be sure whether the patient is in imminent danger, I would report the case.
Mandatory reporting brings about positive and negative implications. One of its benefits is that it increases the medi...