Receptionists Training/Patient Confidentality – Taking Responsibility

Everyone working within the Health Care Sector is bound by patient confidentiality.

Every member of staff should be expected to sign a confidentiality statement when they first start working for you. Confidentiality is vital when you are working with information regarding a patient.

You must only ever disclose patient information in the patient’s best interests.

How many people do you think has access to patient information?

here are a list of some of those healthcare professionals:

Doctors

Consultants

Nurses

HCA (Health Care Assistants)

Paramedics

Ambulance Technician

Other Healthcare Professionals (ie physiotherapists, dietitians, counsellors etc)

Out of Hours Personal

Receptionists

Secretaries

Administrative staff

NHS Managers

Cleaners  (They might see or hear patient information when carrying out their jobs. )

If you are working in a Surgery do you get visitors/workmen to sign a confidentiality statement when they come into your Practice?

There is every possibility that they will see or hear something regarding a patient.  If the
cleaner or workmen live close to your Practice they very well might know the patient.

A good tip for that is to have a confidentiality statement attached  to your visitor’s book – and when a visitor or workman comes into your building ask them to sign the visitor’s book after they had read the confidentiality statement and have agreed to it.

Every visitor to your Practice should be signing a visitor’s book not only to agree to your confidentiality statement but as a record that they are in the building – this can also be used for your Health and Safety Policy. In the event of a fire you have a record of what visitors are in the building.

But the most important thing is making sure that all your staff are aware of confidentiality and the importance of it and if the confidentiality is broken the consequences that it could bring to your Practice.

Confidentiality Training is vital for all new staff.

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