Confidentiality GPHC Flashcards
what is the importance of maintaining confidentiality
Maintaining confidentiality is a vital part of the relationship between a pharmacy professional and a person under their care
When pharmacy professionals
do not handle confidential information
appropriately it can damage public trust and confidence in the pharmacy
professions and other healthcare
professions.
what are examples of confidential information?
- electronic and hard copy data
- personal details
- information about a person’s medication
(prescribed and non-prescribed) - other information about a person’s
medical history, treatment or care that
could identify them, and - information that people share that is not strictly medical in nature, but that the person disclosing it would expect to be kept confidential
how can you protect information?
- take all reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality and security of information they receive, access, store, send or destroy, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against intrusion, destruction or damage
- take steps to make sure that, when
processing personal data, it is accurate
and, where necessary, kept up to date
-take steps to prevent accidental
disclosure of confidential information
-access confidential information and
records only as part of providing
treatment and care for a person, or for
another permitted purpose that meets
one of the conditions for lawfully
processing personal data set out in
legislation
-make sure that everyone they work with in their pharmacy, hospital, practice or other setting knows about their responsibility to maintain confidentiality
- raise concerns with person who is responsible for data control
-continue to protect a persons confidentiality after they have died
-store hard copy and electronic
documents, records, registers,
prescriptions and other sources of
confidential information securely for no
longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed
-not leave confidential information where it may be seen or accessed by people receiving care, the public or anyone else who should not have access to it
-not discuss information that can identify people receiving care if the discussions can be overheard or seen by others not involved in their care
-* not disclose information on any websites, internet chat forums or social media that could identify a person
Maintaining confidentiality is an important
duty, but there are circumstances when it
may be appropriate to disclose confidential
information. These are when a pharmacy
professional:
- has the consent of the person under
their care - has to disclose by law
- should do so in the public interest,
and/or - must do so in the vital interests of a
person receiving treatment or care,
what to do if person with capacity declines consent
Pharmacy professionals must respect the
wishes of a person with capacity under
their care who does not consent to
information about them being shared with
others, unless the law says they must
disclose the information or it is in the
public interest to make such a disclosure.
If a pharmacy professional decides to
disclose confidential information about a person, they should:
- pseudonymise information or make it
anonymous, if they do not need to
identify the person receiving care - get the person’s consent to share their information. But they do not need to do this if:
– disclosure is required by law, or
– the disclosure can be justified in the
public interest2
, or
– to do so is impracticable, would put
the pharmacy professional or others
(including the person receiving
treatment or care) at risk of serious
harm, or would prejudice the purpose
of the disclosure, for example to
prevent a crime - disclose only the information needed for the particular purpose
- make sure that, if they disclose
confidential information, the people
receiving the information know that it is
confidential and is to be treated as such
-be prepared to justify the decisions and any actions they take
-release the information promptly once
they are satisfied with what information
should be disclosed and have taken all
necessary steps to protect
confidentiality
- retain a copy of the disclosure made
-make appropriate records - who the request is from, obtained consent? what they disclosed? and was it disclosed securely? etc
what does the patient need to know about disclosing info with consent?
- what information will be disclosed
- why information will be disclosed
- who it will be disclosed to
- the likely consequences of disclosing
and of not disclosing the information
Pharmacy professionals should also take
data protection legislation into account in
these circumstances, as those
requirements also need to be followed.
Under data protection legislation,
information can be shared when express
consent (specific permission to do
something) is given. Consent to share
information under the duty of
confidentiality may not be valid for the
purposes of data protection legislation.
Before disclosing information without the
consent of the person receiving care, a
pharmacy professional should:
- be satisfied that the law says they have
to disclose the information, or that
disclosure can be justified as being in
the public interest and also meets the
requirements of data protection
legislation. (This would be through an
exemption or condition that would
apply for the information to be
processed and disclosed.) - if they are unsure about the basis for the request, ask for clarification from the person making the request
- ask for the request in writing
If necessary, pharmacy professionals
should get advice from a relevant body, for
example their indemnity insurance
provider, union, professional body or other
pharmacy organisation, or an independent
legal adviser. The ICO can give advice, and
has issued guidance, on the requirements
of data protection legislation.
There are circumstances when the law says
a pharmacy professional must disclose
information that they hold. These
circumstances include when a person or
body is using their powers under the law to
ask for the information, for example:
the police or another enforcement,
prosecuting or regulatory authority
- a healthcare regulator, such as the GPhC
or the GMC - an NHS counter-fraud investigation
officer - a coroner, procurator fiscal, judge or
relevant court which orders that the
information should be disclosed
They need legitatamet reasons -
If necessary, pharmacy professionals
should get advice from a relevant body, for
example their indemnity insurance
provider, union, professional body or other
pharmacy organisation, the ICO, or an
independent legal adviser
A pharmacy professional may disclose
confidential information when they
consider it to be in the public interest to do
so, for example if the information is
required to prevent:
- a serious crime
- serious harm to a person receiving care
or to a third party, or - serious risk to public health
carefully balance the competing interests of confidentiality of info and public interest
-understand the possible harm that may be caused due to not disclosing
-disclosure must comply with the requirement of the data protection law
- If necessary, pharmacy professionals
should get advice from a relevant body, for
example their indemnity insurance
provider, union, professional body or other
pharmacy organisation, the ICO, or an
independent legal adviser
