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Keeping Secrets The Healthcare Workers Duty of Confidentiality
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Keeping Secrets The Healthcare Workers Duty of Confidentiality
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Keeping Secrets: The Healthcare Workers Duty ofConfidentiality
CPD
Learning Objectives
After reading this article on privacy and confidentiality, the healthcare worker will be able to:
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● Understand the difference between privacy and confidentiality
● Recognise how confidentiality can be breached
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● Identify circumstances when disclosure of information is lawful
● Understand what impact a breach of confidentiality could have on both the healthcare worker and
the client.
IF
Confidentiality and Privacy
What do we mean by confidentiality and privacy - are they the same thing? Why are these concepts
important?
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Preserving privacy and confidentiality is crucial because the relationship you develop with your clients
(and with other staff) is based on trust and mutual respect. Any violation of these concepts risks
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compromising the therapeutic relationship, which could lead to the client losing trust in the system, and in
turn, affect their future care.
Privacy and confidentiality are important and often misunderstood concepts in healthcare. Perhaps a
simple way of viewing the difference between these concepts is to think that by keeping the client’s
information confidential, you are also protecting their privacy.
Privacy relates to the client’s presumption that they control information about themselves, and their
expectation that the health service will ensure this information is protected through appropriate and
, secure collection and storage practices. This is critical, as clients must feel as though they can provide a
full and frank disclosure of information regarding their health. This will give healthcare workers a clear
understanding of their concerns in order to develop appropriate care plans.
Confidentiality refers to the healthcare worker’s obligation to maintain the client’s confidence by ensuring
that any information collected in relation to the client, their health and their treatment is not shared with
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anyone who is not authorised to access it.
All health practitioners have both a legal and ethical duty to protect the confidentiality and privacy of their
clients. This is entrenched in various organisational policies, codes of ethics and conduct, federal and
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state/territory legislation and standards.
What is a Breach of Confidentiality?
IF
A breach of confidentiality occurs when information that is confidential has been disclosed to an
unauthorised third party in a situation where there was an expectation that the information would be kept
confidential (McDonald & Then 2019).
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How Might Confidentiality be Breached?
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