Tutorial One: information technology

In this tutorial we discussed to uses of Information Technology (IT) and some ethical issues that can occur with IT. IT is "a term that encompasses all forms of technology used to create, store, exchange, and utilize information in its various forms including business data, conversations, still images, motion pictures, and multimedia presentation". Retrieved on June, 23, 2010 from www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82268.html. Basically IT refers to anything that's to do with computer technology. IT is very prevalent in society today as it deals with computers and computer software. Lots of people use IT as it encompasses anything from email accounts, social networking sites, mobile phones, ipods, and search engines. One of the IT devices i feel very comfortable with is my email account as Ive had one since i started college so Ive grown up with it and its easy for me to understand.

Occupational therapy uses a lot of information technology for example the last fieldwork placement i was on had an intraweb in place at the hospital. This enabled all staff including Occupational therapists to access the necessary client notes, upload information onto client files, and even make referrals for a client. When information is shared in this way some ethical implications arise, such as patient confidentiality. it is not always certain who receives client information when using things like phones or email so a breach in patient confidentiality could occur. another ethical dilemma that can occur within IT especially in things like the intraweb at my hospital is that even though staff were not allowed to they could gain access to their own files.

Computer ethics can be defined as "a set of moral principles that regulate the use of computers. some common issues of computer ethics include intellectual property rights (such as copyrighted electronic content) privacy concerns, and how computers effect society". Retrieved on June 23, 2010, from http://www.techterms.com/definition/computerethics. Intellectual property can be defined as "a product of the intellect that has commercial value, including copy righted property, such as patients, appellations of origin, busness methods, and industrial process". Retrieved on June, 23, 2010. Social Justice is defined as "fair and proper administration of laws conforming to the natural law that all persons, irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, possessions, race, religion, etc., are to be treated equally and without prejudice". Retrieved on June, 23, 2010, from http://www.buisnessdictionary.com/definition/social-justice.html. Informed consent "can be said to have been given based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the facts, implications, and future, consequences of an action. in order to give informed consent, the individual concerned must have adequate reasoning faculties and be in possession of all relevant facts at the time consent is given". Retrieved on June, 23, 2010, from http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/informed_consent.

A good understanding of IT and the issues surounding it, is important for OTs. Understanding the uses of IT would enable OTs to increase their area of knowledge and as mentioned above IT will be used in lots of services so a good understanding will increase an OTs knowledge of how to use it.