MOD 10 - Privacy and Confidentiality

Public Sector in BC privacy is governed by two acts

• F.I.P.P.A. (est. 1993) 

• Private Sector (est. 2004)

Two BC legislations that provide definite guidelines to maintaining patient confidentiality

• Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA)

• Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) provides

privacy rights with regards to information collected, used, disclosed, stored, or disposed of by public bodies in B.C

FIPPA covers

provincial government bodies, health care bodies, and local public bodies such as municipalities, police, schools, colleges, universities, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons

two main functions of FIPPA

• Freedom of Information: As a member of the public, you have a right to access the records public bodies keep about you.

• Protection of Privacy: You have a right to personal privacy

when discussing patients’ personal information it’s important to

• verify the identity of the caller

• do so in a secure location

• Keep a record

Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) defines

rules for private sector and non-profit organizations that collect, use or disclose information about you

Personal information

all recorded information about an identifiable individual, including healthcare history, health care number, fingerprints, email address, a medical report, or someone’s opinion about that individual

Personal information does not include

job title, business address, telephone number or other contact information of an individual at a place business

All requests for diagnostic tests must

be written

Patient Record Property

A record is the property of the hospital, however, the information on that record is the property of the patient

when documenting on a requisition or patient’s chart, NOTE

• Only document your own findings or observations (meaning don’t doc what smo else said)

• Document any care refused by the patient during your time with that patient

• Use a black or blue ink pen. Do not use a pencil. Do not use a liquid eraser (whiteout). If you wish to delete something, draw a line through it, initial it,  and indicate that it was an error.

every treatment requires a

patient's consent

various forms of consent

• expressed (agreeing verbally or in writing)

• implied (non-verbal, body language)

required consent usually occurs where

• reviewed by the physician with the patient

• signed at the time the patient is admitted to the hospital

informed consent

physician to 'inform' the patient of the purpose, risks, benefits and alternatives to any medical procedure

who is ultimately responsible for obtaining consent

The Canadian Medical Protective Association states that the physician is

patient teaching as a MRT

to explain the procedure and what the patient can expect regarding discomfort, approximate length of time of the exam, various positions, etc

Informed Consent Criteria

• diagnosis

• prognosis

• nature of proposed treatments

• benefits/risks

• options/alternatives

therapeutic privilege

provision that may allow justification for withholding information because it is felt that the patient cannot cope with the information

can students be a sole witness to the signing of a consent form?

No, they must be an employee of the hospital

Types of Protection of information Controls

• Administrative (created by the hospital in the form of policies, procedures, and privacy training sessions)

• Technical (usernames and passwords)

• Physical (close charts, shredding confidential information)