Confidentiality violations can lead to mistrust and people not disclosing all relevant information. Many theories can be used to make ethical decisions and identify alternatives to ethical dilemmas that may cause breaches of confidentiality. Ethics committees are essential to consider a variety of viewpoints and collaborate with others for the well-being of patients and critical information disclosed. The ethical implications of a breach of confidentiality can range from personal to professional distrust. According to the American Medical Association (n.d.), a breach of confidentiality is the disclosure to a third party, without the patient's consent or court order, of private information that the doctor or nurse has learned as part of the patient-patient relationship. doctor or nurse. Disclosure may be oral or written, by telephone or fax, or electronically, for example, via email or health information networks (Patient, n.d.). Keeping this information confidential helps the nurse or doctor maintain the patient's trust. Maintaining trust allows for full disclosure of health history, behavior and risk factors. If trust is lost, communication diminishes and treatment, diagnosis and care are affected and can potentially mislead the healthcare provider into the wrong way of thinking. Furthermore, violating confidentiality can lead to great distrust of the healthcare profession as a whole. Americans who rate the honesty and ethical standards of professions place nursing at the top in the December 2011 Gallup poll with 84 percent, second on the list were pharmacists with 73 percent, and third on the list were doctors with 70% (Jones, n.d.). Losing trust and credibility will destroy the public's view of the honest ethical values ​​that we... middle of paper... keep low. Gallup.Com - Daily news, polls, public opinion on government, politics, economics, management. Retrieved December 25, 2011, from http://www.gallup.com/poll/151460/Record-Rate-Honesty-Ethics-Members-Congress-Low.aspxNathanson, P. G. (2000, February 24). bioethics.net :: Article Topics: Bioethics on NBC's Emergency Room. The American Journal of Bioethics - Editor-in-Chief Glenn McGee. Retrieved December 29, 2011, from http://www.bioethics.net/articles.php?viewCat=7&articleId=133Patient Confidentiality. (n.d.). American Medical Association - Doctors, Medical Students and Patients (AMA). Retrieved December 25, 2011, from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/legal-topics/patient-phycian-relationship-topics/patient-confidentiality.pagePurtilo, R.B., and Doherty, R. (2011). Ethical dimensions in health professions (5th ed.). St. Louis: Saunders.