Keep it Confidential

Building on our recent them of low cost high reward strategies for health care organizations.

I'd like to introduce our old friend confidentiality.

Why is patient confidentiality so important in health care?

Firstly, let's talk about what confidentiality is: At it's most basic is, preserving the privacy of the patient who receives care. This not only applies to medical records, but also general patient dignity.

Double gown goes a long way.

So why is this important? Well for starters, lawsuits. In addition, breaches of confidentiality is also a breach of trust. As a patient, will you continue to seek care from someone you don't trust? Exactly.

So, how much can a breach of confidentiality cost the hospital or health care organization? Well take a look at this link:

http://www.londonlitigation.com/Articles/Invasion-of-Privacy-Can-You-Sue-How-Much-Is-It-Worth.shtml

There are some examples, but the common figure is at least in the tens of thousands and that's just in the small claims court. Multiply that by how many breaches of confidentiality there are in a year...well you get the picture.

So how is confidentiality breached? Mostly it's just carelessness. Leaving papers lying around, talking too loudly, losing USB keys, faxing records to the wrong place and whatnot. Then there's theft and really quite low on the list is actual malicious intent.

So, the moral of the story is to be careful and vigilant (that's free!), at best it could cost you patients, at worst, your job and license.