Privacy violations can lead to distrust and prevent people from disclosing all their relevant information. Many theories can be used to make ethical decisions and identify alternatives to ethical dilemmas that may result in privacy violations. 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 distrust on a personal level to a professional level. According to the American Medical Association (nd), a breach of confidentiality is a disclosure to a third party, without the patient's consent or court order, of private information that the physician or nurse learned in the course of the patient-doctor or nurse relationship. Disclosure may be oral or written, by telephone or fax, or electronically, such as 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 medical history, behavior, and risk factors. If trust is lost, communication decreases and treatment, diagnosis and care suffer and can potentially mislead the health worker into the wrong way of thinking. Additionally, breaching confidentiality can lead to great distrust of the healthcare profession as a whole. Americans rating the honesty and ethical standards of professions place nursing first in the December 2011 Gallup poll at 84%, pharmacists second at 73%, and doctors third at 70% (Jones, n.d.) . Loss of trust and credibility will destroy the public's image of the honest ethical values ​​we...... middle of paper ......ress Low. Gallup.Com - Daily news, polls, public opinion on government, politics, economics and management. Retrieved December 25, 2011, from http://www.gallup.com/poll/151460/Record-Rate-Honesty-Ethics-Members-Congress-Low.aspxNathanson, P.G. (February 24, 2000). bioethics.net :: Article Topics: Bioethics on NBC Emergency. The American Journal of Bioethics - Editor Glenn McGee. Accessed December 29, 2011, from http://www.bioethics.net/articles.php?viewCat=7&articleId=133Patient Confidentiality. (nd). American Medical Association – Physicians, Medical Students, and Patients (AMA). Retrieved December 25, 2011 from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/legal-topics/patient-physician-relationship-topics/patient-confidentiality.page Purtilo, RB and Doherty, R. (2011). Ethical Dimensions in the Health Professions (5th ed.). St. Louis: Saunders.