you are a medical records clerk working in the HMC department of a major hospital in your area. you over hear a co-worker on the phone stating that they have found a phone number and address of a patient and it appears to be personal. Identify the ethical concern in the discussion background

The ethical concern in the discussion background is that of a confidentiality breach.

Explanation:

In health care, the confidentiality ethics dictates that health personnel who have access to patients' information should not disclose this to external people who have no role in the patients' care. This can be seen in the first principle of the American Health Information Management Association Code of Ethics (AHIMA), which advocates the individual's right to privacy and confidentiality in the disclosure of information.

Confidential information is privileged information that must not be disclosed without the patients' permission. So when a coworker reveals information relating to a patients' address and phone number, he has violated the ethics of confidentiality.