This practice recognises that all members of the
team have an ethical and legal duty to keep
patient information confidential. The
relationship this practice has with each patient
is based on trust that information will not be
given to external persons or organisations
without the patient's consent. All members of
the practice team are expected to comply with
this policy and are advised to be aware of the
confidentiality clause within their staff
contract. Breaches of this policy could lead to
dismissal.
‘Standards for
Dental Professionals’, guidance from the
General Dental Council, notes that practitioners
must ‘Protect the confidentiality of
patients’
information’.
This means:
• Using information only for the
purposes for which it was given.
•
Preventing information from being accidentally
revealed.
• Preventing unauthorised
access by keeping information secure at all
times.
Only in exceptional
circumstances can a breach of confidentiality be
justified.
Preventing breaches of
confidentiality
We will keep all
confidential data stored securely and will not
allow it to be placed in areas where data may be
seen by unauthorised personnel.
We
will not provide information:
• To a
school about a child's attendance.
•
To employers about a patient’s
appointments.
• To third parties about
appointments or leave answering machine
messages.
• Only leave messages to
return the practice's phone
call.
Recall cards and other personal
information will be sent in a sealed envelope.
Disclosure of
information
If it is necessary to
release information about a patient:
•
We will obtain the patient's consent first,
where possible and make sure they understand
what information is being released, why and any
likely consequences.
• We will release
the minimum required.
• We will be
prepared to justify our decisions and follow on
action.
If we use patient information
(eg. radiographs, study models) for teaching
purposes we will gain the patient's consent and
ensure the patient cannot be identified from the
information released.
Exceptional
circumstances
Responsibility for
disclosure rests with the patient’s
dentist only. Under no circumstances will any
other member of our staff make such a
decision.
There may be some circumstances
when the dentist feels it would be in the public
interest to breach a patient's confidentiality.
In such cases we will seek advice from our
indemnifier before releasing the patient's
information to a third party.
A court
may order us to release information without the
patient's consent. If so, we will only release
the minimum information.
Access to
records
Patients have a right to
see their records and we will meet any request
within 40 days. A request from a patient to see
records or for a copy must be referred to the
patient’s dentist.
The patient
should be given the opportunity of coming into
the practice to discuss the records and will
then be given a photocopy.
More
information
For more information on
this topic, speak with the practice owner or
practice manager.
Useful
organisations:
General Dental Council
(www.gdc-uk.org)
Information Commissioner
(https://ico.org.uk)