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    Patient Confidentiality

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    Melody B. Miguel
    This document discusses patient confidentiality and the duty of confidentiality for healthcare providers. It explains that patient confidentiality is based on the notion that people should feel comfortable seeking medical treatment without fear of their personal health information being disclosed. As a result, doctors are expected to keep patient information private and only use it for their care. The document outlines what types of patient information is considered confidential and exceptions where confidentiality can be breached, such as with patient consent or to prevent serious health threats. It also discusses potential legal consequences for breaching patient confidentiality.

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    Patient Confidentiality

    Uploaded by

    Melody B. Miguel
    166 views2 pages
    This document discusses patient confidentiality and the duty of confidentiality for healthcare providers. It explains that patient confidentiality is based on the notion that people should feel comfortable seeking medical treatment without fear of their personal health information being disclosed. As a result, doctors are expected to keep patient information private and only use it for their care. The document outlines what types of patient information is considered confidential and exceptions where confidentiality can be breached, such as with patient consent or to prevent serious health threats. It also discusses potential legal consequences for breaching patient confidentiality.

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    BREACH

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    This document discusses patient confidentiality and the duty of confidentiality for healthcare providers. It explains that patient confidentiality is based on the notion that people should feel comfortable seeking medical treatment without fear of their personal health information being disclosed. As a result, doctors are expected to keep patient information private and only use it for their care. The document outlines what types of patient information is considered confidential and exceptions where confidentiality can be breached, such as with patient consent or to prevent serious health threats. It also discusses potential legal consequences for breaching patient confidentiality.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    166 views2 pages

    Patient Confidentiality

    Uploaded by

    Melody B. Miguel
    This document discusses patient confidentiality and the duty of confidentiality for healthcare providers. It explains that patient confidentiality is based on the notion that people should feel comfortable seeking medical treatment without fear of their personal health information being disclosed. As a result, doctors are expected to keep patient information private and only use it for their care. The document outlines what types of patient information is considered confidential and exceptions where confidentiality can be breached, such as with patient consent or to prevent serious health threats. It also discusses potential legal consequences for breaching patient confidentiality.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    There are certain relationships that, by their very nature, require one or both party's consent before

    information can be disclosed to a third-party. Perhaps the most common of these relationships include
    that of: doctor to patient, therapist to patient, and attorney to client. Because these types of
    relationships often involve very personal and sensitive information (such as medical conditions or
    personal finances), confidentiality serves to facilitate open and forthright communication between both
    parties -- thereby serving the best interests of all involved. This article focuses on breaches of doctor-
    patient confidentiality, the scope of the law, and what to do to protect yourself.

    Patient Confidentiality

    Patient confidentiality is based on the notion that a person shouldn't be worried about seeking medical
    treatment for fear that his or her condition will be disclosed to others. The objective of this confidential
    relationship is to make patients feel comfortable enough providing any and all relevant information. This
    helps the doctor to make a correct diagnosis, and ultimately to provide the patient with the best
    possible medical care.

    As a result, once a doctor takes a patient on, there's an expectation that the physician will hold that
    special knowledge in confidence and use it exclusively for the benefit of the patient. He or she cannot
    share any medical information about the patient to third persons without the patient's consent, though
    there are some exceptions.

    WHAT INFORMATION IS CONFIDENTIAL?

    Any information (including names) pertaining to appointments, examinations, assessments, and


    procedures shared or discussed with the physician and other treating medical staff

    Any opinions, conclusions, or diagnoses the doctor develops after assessments and/or examinations

    All medical records, including medical history, preexisting conditions, x-rays, lab reports, etc.

    Any communication—whether health-related or otherwise—shared with the physician and other


    treating medical staff during treatment

    Duty of Confidentiality: Understanding your patients’ and your rights and obligations

    In health care, there are important reasons for confidentiality. It builds trust. It encourages honest and
    frank discussion between clients and healthcare staff, including about sensitive issues. It helps enable
    appropriate diagnosis, treatment and services.

    Maintaining your duty of confidentiality is important because if you don’t, you’re vulnerable to legal
    action for breach of confidence.

    The duty of confidentiality has three sources, one of which we’ve already looked at. These are:

    Statutory duty. This source requires that you must not use or disclose personal information for a
    ‘secondary purpose’, e.g. fundraising, marketing or media interviews.
    Common law. A patient can sue for breach of confidentiality if it can be shown the breach results in
    actual injury or damage (this is rare). Compensation is payable under the Privacy Act.

    Ethics. Confidentiality facilitates autonomy and self-determination, and supports the dignity of the
    patient.

    Examples of breaches of confidentiality include: copying data from a work computer or server onto a
    hard drive or USB before the end the employment. disclosing information from a former employer to a
    new employer. sending emails from a work email account to a personal email address

    BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY

    It constitutes a breach of confidentiality if doctors, physicians, psychologists, and psychiatrists expose


    anything they were informed of by the patient during the treatment process, even after the deaths of
    their patient. Doing so is illegal and punishable under federal laws. To provide the best treatment,
    physicians need private information from their patients. Patients will only share it if they know it won't
    be disclosed. Confidentiality is fundamental in the medical sphere. Therefore, the person responsible for
    the breach may face sanctions from his employer or the board that approved his professional license.

    Exceptions to Breach of Confidentiality

    A person can give you consent to disclose information. The simple type, where a person clearly states
    their consent or signs a form allowing you to release information.

    When the patient is not able to give his consent. For example, if his conscious level is affected,
    disclosure can be justified on the presumption of implied consent.

    When patient or someone else’s health or safety are seriously threatened and the information will help,
    such as if you are unconscious and paramedics, doctors and nurses need to know if you are allergic to
    any drugs.

    Medical research. Hospital files can be used for research purposes; but again, consent is usually required
    and the information is often de-identified.

    Law enforcement and legal claims. You may provide notes and records, and if necessary, to answer
    questions in court, even if it means disclose ‘confidential’ information. In this situation, the duty of
    confidentiality requires only relevant information be provided. For example, it would not be appropriate
    for a doctor to give a patient’s entire medical file if only one type of record from the file was requested.

    Public interest. You may disclose information to prevent ‘serious or imminent threat to the life or health
    of the individual concerned, or another’. An example is if you become aware of information that could
    result in a disease epidemic and the public needs to be warned.

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