Confidentiality Video- How to handle a coworker wanting you to breach confidentiality

 
 To learn how to deal with a coworker wanting to extract sensitive info from you click here 

Confidentiality in the Workplace

What is the first thing you think of when you think of confidentiality? If you are like most people you think of it in terms of customer and/or clients and not necessarily coworkers. Workplace confidentiality can be defined as keeping the employee, customer and client information private. Organizations tend to take various steps to ensure client information remains confidential however, when it comes to employee information they may not be as particular. Why is this important you ask? Let’s discuss a few reasons why confidentiality is important in the workplace.

For starters, it is everyone’s responsibility to treat all information in the workplace with care and caution including employees. The organization should set the tone on the importance of maintaining a professional attitude at work by refraining from sharing any personal details with fellow colleagues at work. Also, an employee should not disclose any information to a third party that the organization considers sensitive, until and unless the employee has gotten permission from his supervisor regarding the sensitive information.

All employees should know what they have access to in terms of files and materials and they should adhere to them. No files or materials should be shared or given to unauthorized people under no circumstances. In an event sensitive and confidential files reach the hands of an unauthorized person it would be considered a breach of confidentiality and the employee could be terminated for it. Employees also should not be discussing any business dealings with the clients outside of work.

As far as the employer’s responsibility is concerned, any personal or professional details of the employees should be handled carefully. Any and all data related to the personal details of an employee, health data, salary structure, references etc. should be kept safe from prying eyes for if misused can lead to discrimination in the workplace. Only HR department staff members who require the data for certain purposes should be given access to the personal files of the employees.

Maintaining confidentiality inside and outside the workplace is important for several reasons. Should a breach in confidentiality occur lawsuits against the organization may be filed if they feel secret information regarding them have been revealed by the organization or its employees. This can affect a business’s reputation and have other negative repercussions. So it is of the utmost important that the organization and the employees protect information in the workplace.

Ways to Maintain Confidentiality in the Workplace?

The HR department should have guidelines and strategies to ensure that confidentiality in the workplace is maintained. Below are several effective steps that can be taken to ensure the protection of information.

1) Posting policies throughout the workplace.
2) Once the policies are in place communicate the information to all employees, supervisors and managers

3) Training should be provided about the confidentiality issues by providing printouts of the policy and hold meetings teaching the importance of confidentiality to employees and should be done on a regular basis.

Employees should know and be well aware of which actions of theirs will be considered a breach of confidentiality as well is the consequences to deter them from doing so.

With much of the information today being stored electronically methods such as encryption, firewalls and password protection should be adopted to ensure its safety. If you need to dispose sensitive information the employer or the human resource personnel should do it in such a way that there are no potential leaks.

With the privacy policies and guidelines being updated regularly according to new laws devised by the government employers and HR professionals should communicate these changes to the employees to ensure compliance is being adhered to. By maintaining the confidentiality standards in the workplace, the organization not only protects itself from legal woes but improves employee productivity also by providing them with a secure work environment.

References: Aastha Dogra. (February 23, 2012). Confidentiality in the Workplace. In buzzle.com. Retrieved October 7, 2013, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/confidentiality-in-the-workplace.html.

Privacy , Security and Patient Rights

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) is a Federal Law Created in 1996 to safeguard information and ensure patient privacy. Three major things were accomplished with this law.

1) Placed limits on how confidential health information can be shared with others.

2) It also established patient rights to control the sharing of their health information

3) Put safeguards in place for confidential health information collected, maintained, used, or transmitted in electronic form.

 Many people do not know the difference between privacy and security. I will now define these so that you now know the difference.

PRIVACY- Refers to WHAT is protected. Information about the individual and the determination of WHO is permitted to use, access or disclose information.

SECURITY- Refers to HOW this information is being safeguarded-ensuring privacy by controlling access to information and protecting it from inappropriate disclosure and accidental or intentional destruction or loss. 

What is considered confidential health information?

All information about a patient is considered confidential, including information that:

• Is created or maintained in ANY format

• Relates to the patient’s past, present or future medical condition, treatment or payment for care

• Identifies the patient or could be used to identify the patient 

In what ways can confidential information be shared?

The information should only be shared with those who essentially “need to know” in order to care for the patient. There are two ways this information can be shared.

USE:  The sharing of confidential health information within the organization

DISCLOSURE: The sharing of confidential health information with others outside the organization

Are there exceptions to the rule?

In certain situations, the disclosure of confidential patient information is permitted without written permission, but we must note the disclosure in the patient’s record. Some examples of these types of disclosures include:

• For public health and oversight activities 

• When required by law 

• To carry out special government functions

  *There are specific guidelines to follow when providing information under these special circumstances – always check with your supervisor for guidance.

 

Can a patient place restrictions on the disclosure of their confidential health information?

In special situations, the patient can request that some of their confidential health information not be shared, such as:

• For Patient Directory purposes

• Fundraising, Promotion Events etc.

• To a patient’s family & friends involved in care

• To others involved in payment for care

 What rights do patients have to control the sharing of their confidential health information?

  Patients have the right to:

• Inspect and copy the medical record

• Amend the medical record

• Receive a list of certain disclosures

• A copy of the Notice of Privacy Practices

• Request confidential communication

• File a complaint with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services

The sharing of confidential health information related to certain treatments and services are afforded a higher level of protection

• Alcohol/Substance Abuse
• Child Abuse
• Mental Health
• Genetics
• HIV-Related Information

Patients expect privacy when they are receiving healthcare. Patients also expect that their confidential health information will be appropriately protected. Examples of safeguards that help to ensure confidentiality are:

•  Shred all paper containing confidential health information or place in closed receptacles

• When faxing, verify the fax number before sending

• Close doors or privacy curtains when having discussions of confidential health information

•  Do not leave medical records unattended or in open areas

·        

SECURE YOUR COMPUTER ACCESS!

Patients expect their confidential health information in our computer systems will be appropriately secured. Examples of computer safeguards to secure our information include:

• Protect your access by not sharing your account and/or password with others

•  Do not write down or post your password on computer systems

•   Never leaving a workstation signed on or left unattended with access to confidential health information

•  Access information in computer systems when you have a need-to-know the information

• Never disable or remove the virus detection software

Q: WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS IT TO SAFEGUARD INFORMATION AND SECURE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION??

A: EVERYONE’S!!

References: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/index.html , http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/index.html, http://www.hippa.com/

What is Confidentiality?

This blog was created as an introduction to confidentiality. It is designed to ensure people in various fields know what confidentiality means, understand the importance of maintaining it and learn how it pertains to their job. As this blog evolves it will have various topics to include confidentiality in the workplace, HIPAA rules and regulations and more.  I will begin with a Q&A structure to get everyone familiar with confidentiality at its core before we get into more detailed information.

 Q: What does confidentiality mean?

 A: Confidentiality is the discretion of keeping secret information

Q: Why is confidentiality important?

A: Confidentiality is important because it protects the secrets of individuals’ and acts as a barrier to information and detail not supposed to be accessed. Confidentiality ensures that information is not disclosed to unauthorized people and is managed by way of data protection.

Q: how do you maintain confidentiality?

A: Confidentiality can be maintained by keeping the clients records safe and appropriately secured such as being locked and/or password-protected. Also, in most cases a client’s records can only be released to a third party only after the client provides written consent.

I think this is a good starting point for this blog and a new post will be up soon!