Medical confidentiality is a set of rules that limits access to information discussed between a person and their healthcare practitioners. With only a few exceptions, anything you discuss with your doctor must, by law, be kept private between the two of you and the organisation they work for.
A doctor does have to break confidentiality if they think you're at risk of harm or in danger. If you tell them you're involved in a serious crime (such as murder, drug-dealing, sexual assault or assault), they might have to report it. Again, ask them about confidentiality before deciding what you want to tell them.
Never tell a patient that care is substandard.
This can be difficult for nurses who are genuinely frustrated and want to explain to an unsatisfied patient why they cannot fix the problem. But O'Leary says they must avoid the temptation to say “We're short staffed” or “Administration won't give us the help we need.”
Physicians face a host of challenges in practice, but the one that looms largest is often this — they don't know everything. It would be tempting to think that they do. As patients, we want them to.
You must respect and protect patient information. See section on Patient records. Patients must consent before you share any information about them.
Situations in which confidentiality will need to be broken:
There is disclosure or evidence of physical, sexual or serious emotional abuse or neglect. Suicide is threatened or attempted. There is disclosure or evidence of serious self-harm (including drug or alcohol misuse that may be life-threatening).
Benevolent deception, or mutually beneficial lies are false, misleading statements that are intended to benefit both the person we're lying to and ourselves.
Inappropriate behaviour can include being rude, aggressive, sarcastic, disinhibited, making suggestive comments, and touching sexual body parts. It is important to develop a professional approach for navigating such situations.
Looking into your mouth- Our mouths can also tell us a lot about our health. Doctors look at the back of our throats to see if there are any infections. They also look at the color and texture of our tongues which can be indicative of infections or other underlying medical conditions.
Only you or another person you've authorised, such as a legal guardian or authorised representative, can make the request. You may be asked to put your request in writing and for information that identifies you. You may be asked to include: your name and address.
Medical tests can detect nicotine in people's urine, blood, saliva, hair, and nails.
Vague statements and expressions of uncertainty allow a deceptive person leeway to modify his or her assertions at a later date without directly contradicting the original statement. Noncommittal verbs are: think, believe, guess, suppose, figure, assume.
Lying is a common form of deception—stating something known to be untrue with the intent to deceive.
Deception includes both dissimulation (hiding or withholding information) and simulation (putting out wrong or misleading information).
Some factors that play a role: Emotional regulation: Sometimes people complain as a way to manage their emotions. By venting their feelings, they hope to lessen the severity of these distressing emotions. Mood: People may be more likely to complain when they are experiencing negative moods.
In medical practice, autonomy is usually expressed as the right of competent adults to make informed decisions about their own medical care.
Health professionals and services are under a strict ethical and legal duty to keep patient information confidential.
Medical ethics is concerned with the obligations of the doctors and the hospital to the patient along with other health professionals and society. The health profession has a set of ethics, applicable to different groups of health professionals and health-care institutions.
Exceptions to the general rule of confidentiality
A client tells you they have committed a serious crime – Serious crime covers offences such as drug trafficking, serious assaults, sexual assaults, murder and manslaughter. It does not include minor possession offences or any offences under public health legislation.
Protected information can be obtained, recorded, used and disclosed for certain purposes as authorised under FA law. It is a criminal offence to disclose protected information without authorisation. A breach of protected information is punishable by a maximum of 2 years imprisonment.
A classic example of a breach of confidentiality is mistakenly sending Client A an email that was meant for Client B. In this instance, you've shared Client B's sensitive information with a third party without their consent. This could either be by you as the business owner or one of your employees.