Confidentiality in Health and Social Care

What is Confidentiality in Health and Social Care?

Confidentiality in health and social care definition consists of keeping sensitive information private and respecting the wishes of individuals. Private information may include medical records, personal preferences or other restricted information. Upholding confidentiality is key to building trust.

In hindsight, confidentiality means that carers must not share the personal details of someone with others unless they’ve been permitted to do so or it’s absolutely necessary. This respects a service user’s right to control access to their personal information, which protects their privacy and dignity.

Why is Confidentiality Important in Health and Social Care?

Confidentiality in health and social care is both a legal and respectful requirement. The Human Rights Act (1998) gives every individual the right to respect both their private and family life, which includes having personal information held in confidence. Then the Care Act (2014) says that ‘’access to personal confidential data should be on a strict need-to-know basis.’’ The moral importance of confidentiality in health and social care includes:

• Building a foundation of trust between service users and care providers
• Creating an environment where people feel safe disclosing sensitive information
• Respecting individual autonomy and upholding the right to privacy

The trust formed through confidentiality is essential for effective communication, accurate diagnosis and the development of personalised care plans. Safeguarding sensitive information also demonstrates a commitment to preserving the dignity and personal choices of service users.

What Legislation Relates to Confidentiality in Health and Social Care?

As mentioned above, several legal frameworks govern confidentiality in health and social care. To add to the Human Rights Act and Care Act listed above, in the UK, the Data Protection Act (2018) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) set the standards for protecting personal data, including health information. Additionally, the Health and Social Care Act (2012) reinforces the importance of confidentiality and data protection in the delivery of care services.

Benefits of Confidentiality in Health and Social Care

The main benefit to maintaining confidentiality in health and social care is to build trust and rapport amongst care staff and service users. Doing so leads to more open and honest communication, which can benefit the health and well-being of individuals.

Respecting the dignity and personal choices of individuals is also key to promoting a person-centred approach to care while promoting confidence and forming trust.

Confidentiality can also prevent the misuse of confidential information, this could refer to legal or immoral use of it. As a result, this could benefit your care service as it’ll protect your reputation.

Finally, when people feel comfortable with sharing information, it can help them receive the best possible treatment for medical conditions. Medical experts and care providers should always maintain anonymity when their crucial duties are carried out.

Confidentiality Policy in Health and Social Care

Services usually implement confidentiality policies and procedures in health and social care to ensure employees, service users and their families understand how their personal information and data is being used, and who has access to it. The policies will outline the expectations, procedures and safeguards to guarantee the secure handling of sensitive information by those who have access to it.

Policies and procedures often cover areas like data storage, access controls (restricting access to sensitive information based on job roles and responsibilities) and guidance for sharing information within legal and ethical boundaries. This should include consent protocols, which outline the processes for obtaining informed consent for information sharing.

Examples of Confidentiality in Health and Social Care

Fully understanding confidentiality in health and social care begins with knowing what kind of information you need to keep quiet. Examples of confidentiality in health and social care include:

• Medical records – Service user medical records including diagnoses, treatment plans and test results are maintained with strict confidentiality to protect sensitive health information.
• Private discussions – Social workers and counsellors ensure the privacy of service user discussions, ensuring their personal issues and concerns are not disclosed without their consent.
• Personal information – Care providers mustn’t share personal details of service users, like their address or contact details, unless it’s necessary for their care and/or with proper authorisation.

Other examples include but are not limited to, name, date of birth, age, sex, current contact details of family, bank information, personal goals, assessments or reports and personal care issues.

How to Maintain Confidentiality in Health and Social Care

Maintaining confidentiality in health and social care requires a careful approach from all professionals involved in the care service, alongside a combination of legal adherence and ethical considerations. To uphold confidentiality, the following strategies can be used:

• Informed consent – Obtain written consent from service users before sharing their information with anyone else, make sure you explain the purpose and potential recipients.
• Secure information handling – Make sure that electronic and physical records are stored securely, with restricted access only to authorised personnel.
• Change log-ins and passwords – Doing so regularly will keep security measures and programs up to date for IT systems and will enhance the protection of personal data. Any data breaches must be reported immediately.
• Record information wisely – Only necessary and relevant information of individuals should be recorded and assessed, you don’t need to make a record of everything.
• Training and awareness – Regularly train your care staff on confidentiality policies and update them on any changes in legislation or best practices if they come about.
• Challenge and verify – Where necessary, make sure you ask for the identity of any person who is requesting confidential or person-identifiable information.
• Avoid giving too much away – When asked for information, you should share only the minimum amount of information that is necessary to attain the purpose.

Professionals must follow the law, which includes complying with relevant data protection and confidentiality legislation. Access to sensitive information should be limited/restricted to those directly involved in the individual’s care. Finally, encryption should be applied to communication channels to keep them secure and reduce the risk of information being leaked when sharing it electronically.

Knowing how to promote confidentiality in health and social care is also advisable. Promoting confidentiality requires a collective effort from both the care service and individuals. Some strategies include fostering a culture that values privacy and confidentiality alongside quality care. You should also regularly review and update policies to align with evolving legal and ethical standards.

When Can You Break Confidentiality in Health and Social Care?

Please note that in health and social care, there is no absolute confidentiality. While confidentiality is a fundamental principle within the health and social care industry, there will be circumstances where it may be ethically and legally justifiable to breach confidentiality. For example, if it’s in the best interest of the service user, or another party whose needs outshine those of the service user’s present situation.

Another example, a health and social care practitioner may need to discuss the symptoms of an individual with a fellow practitioner to ensure that they provide the best possible support. This includes being able to refer the individual to another service that may suit them better.

Confidentiality may be broken due to having a legal obligation to disclose a report. Legal mandates may be required for contagious diseases or complying with court orders. In extreme circumstances, a carer may need to unveil information about someone in court if they are called upon to do so.

Care workers may need to break confidentiality if they suspect a service user will seriously harm themselves or someone else. This doesn’t always include self-harm or drug use unless it’s believed that the individual might accidentally harm themselves in a life-threatening way, or they don’t have full mental capacity.

A final example includes a care worker breaking confidentiality due to suspecting that their client is going to commit a criminal offence. This is something that many people in health and social care are familiar with. Again, it doesn't usually refer to drug use unless the person is supplying it.

Sharing Information and Managing Confidentiality in Health and Social Care

Understanding the boundaries of confidentiality in health and social care is essential. At times, there will be a need to share information for successful care while maintaining confidentiality and this requires careful consideration.

To help, protocols should be put in place to manage information sharing within legal and ethical boundaries, and effective communication among care providers, with explicit consent from service users, helps strike this delicate balance.

Breach of Confidentiality in Health and Social Care

A breach of confidentiality in health and social care is not done on ethical or legal grounds, which means it can have serious consequences. It erodes the trust between service providers and users while compromising their well-being. It could also permanently damage the reputation of your care service.

You have a duty to protect confidentiality in health and social care. To address breaches promptly, you must have procedures in place. These may include investigating the incident, implementing corrective measures and notifying the affected parties where necessary.

Some examples of a breach of confidentiality include leaving confidential information unattended in a non-secure area or disclosing confidential information without proper authorisation.

Maintain Confidentiality in Health and Social Care

In the health and social care industry, confidentiality stands as a fundamental principle that forms trust, preserves dignity and upholds the individual rights of your service users. By understanding the importance of confidentiality alongside legislation and practical aspects, you will be able to navigate the area with ethical integrity. As we continue to evolve our approach to care, the commitment to confidentiality will remain key to safeguarding the trust and well-being of individuals.

To help you support your care team, maintain confidentiality within your care service and to protect your service if a data breach occurs, you should consider implementing our Policies and Procedures software. This will allow you to manage all of your health and social care policies, procedures, documents and forms in one digital platform, which will attain and maintain ongoing compliance with your regulator.

Our award-winning software at The Access Group has been created by health and social care professionals, including former regulators, clinicians and providers, so you will be getting a platform designed for success. Our Policies and Procedures are quick and easy to set up and have been approved for use with the CQC, Care Inspectorate Wales and Care Inspectorate Scotland. You can learn more about our software or book a demo by contacting us today.