Patient Confidentiality and Health Records

Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practice

This document is a guide to required practice for those who work within or under contract to NHS organisations concerning confidentiality and patients’ consent to the use of their health records.

Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practice
Supplementary Guidance: Public Interest Disclosures

This document expands upon the principles set out with the Department of Health's key guidance Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practice. The document is aimed at aiding staff in making difficult decisions about when disclosures of confidential information may be justified in the public interest.

Source: webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk and gov.uk

Resource Type: Guidance and Supplementary Guidance

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General Pharmaceutical Council Guidance On Patient Confidentiality

This document gives guidance to pharmacy professionals on how to meet the standards on confidentiality.

Source: pharmacyregulation.org

Resource Type: Guidance

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Data Protection Act 1998

Source: legislation.gov.uk

Resource Type: Act

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The Guide to Data Protection
Information Commissioner's Office

The principles of the Data Protection Act in detail

This Guide explains the purpose and effect of each principle, and gives practical examples to illustrate how the principles apply in practice. We hope that, by answering many frequently asked questions about data protection, the Guide will prove a useful source of practical advice to those who have day-to-day responsibility for data protection.

Source: ico.gov.uk

Resource Type: Guidance

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Guidance for Access to Health Records Requests

DH guidance on access to health records for both living and deceased individuals.

Source: webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Resource Type: Guidance

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Access to Health Records Act 1990

Source: legislation.gov.uk

Resource Type: Act

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Access to Medical Reports Act 1988

Source: legislation.gov.uk

Resource Type: Act

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Subject access to health records by members of the public
Information Commissioner’s Office

This guidance aims to explain to people who work with medical records how you should deal with these requests and what your responsibilities are under the Act. You may, for example, be working in GPs’ surgeries, hospitals, or for other care providers.

Source: ico.gov.uk

Resource Type: Guidance

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The ACCESS AWARE toolkit

ACCESS AWARE toolkit – ready for you to download and use within your organisation.

The ACCESS AWARE campaign has been designed to remind staff to be ‘access aware’ – acting as an easy to understand expression of the right to access personal information - helping prompt colleagues to recognise a request for personal information, and know how to deal with it.

Source: ico.gov.uk

Resource Type: Toolkit

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Access to health records
Guidance for health professionals in the United Kingdom
British Medical Association

Health professionals often receive requests from people who wish to view or obtain copies of their own health records or those of others. Sometimes these requests come directly from the patient and at other times the requests may be from third parties such as solicitors. Health professionals may also receive requests for access to the records of deceased patients. The purpose of this guidance is to set out the circumstances in which health professionals may receive, and respond to, requests for access to health records.

Source: bma.org.uk

Resource Type: Guidance

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Access to medical reports
Guidance from the British Medical Association Medical Ethics Department

Patients have the right to see reports written about them by a doctor with whom they have a normal doctor-patient relationship. We guide you through the consent process, advise you on patients' rights and outline your duties plus those of insurance companies or employers who are seeking the reports.

Source: bma.org.uk

Resource Type: Guidance

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Confidentiality and disclosure of health information tool kit
British Medical Association

Most enquiries from members are about confidentiality and disclosure of health care information. You know your traditional obligations to protect confidentiality, but you also recognise that increasingly complex dilemmas arise from that duty.

You are also being subject to an ever-growing list of demands to disclose information to third parties such as insurers, the police, social workers, the DVLA and the relatives of deceased patients.

Our tool kit can't give you definitive answers for every situation but it identify the key factors you need to take into account when you make decisions around confidentiality.

It is made up of 16 cards covering specific areas of confidentiality relating to children, adults who lack capacity and the deceased as well as the secondary uses of information.

Source: bma.org.uk

Resource Type: Toolkit

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The Care Record Guarantee

The NHS Care Record Guarantee for England sets out the rules that govern how patient information is used in the NHS and what control the patient can have over this. It is based on professional guidelines, best practice and the law and applies to both paper and electronic records. Whilst not a legal document, the Guarantee could be used as the basis for a complaint.

Source: nigb.nhs.uk

Resource Type: Publication

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The Caldicott Guardian Manual 2010

The manual, which is a DH publication, is guidance that takes account of developments in information management in the NHS and in Councils with Social Care responsibilities since the publication of the Caldicott report. It sets out the role of the Caldicott Guardian within an organisational Caldicott/confidentiality function as a part of broader Information Governance.

Source: hscic.gov.uk

Resource Type: Manual

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PSNC briefing on confidentiality, data protection and human rights

As part of the clinical governance requirement in the NHS pharmacy contract, staff and employees need to comply with legal obligations on data protection and confidentiality, including the Human Rights Act.

Source: psnc.org.uk

Resource Type: Briefing

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Confidentiality and Data Protection staff declaration

Source: psnc.org.uk

Resource Type: Template

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Information Governance - Pharmacy IT - PSNC

All NHS providers, including community pharmacies need to provide information governance assurances to the NHS on an annual basis.

Source: psnc.org.uk

Resource Type: Various

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A Guide to Confidentiality in your Pharmacy

All staff who have access to patient information must comply with the company's policies and procedures on the handling of this information.

Source: dudley.nhs.uk

Resource Type: Guide

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Pharmacy Code of Confidentiality Policy

The Pharmacy recognises that the existence of trust and confidence is essential for establishing and maintaining good relationships with patients. As a result we place a high premium on confidentiality and all staff must comply with both the spirit and rules of this Confidentiality Policy.

Source: lpc-online.org.uk

Resource Type: Policy

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Data Protection Act - How to Comply checklist

This short checklist will help you comply with the DPA. Being able to answer ‘yes’ to every question does not guarantee compliance, and you may need further advice in particular areas, but it should mean that broadly speaking you are heading in the right direction.

Source: lpc-online.org.uk

Resource Type: Checklist

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Data Protection Act - Small Business Guide

This is a straightforward guide to following the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the “DPA”).

Source: lpc-online.org.uk

Resource Type: Guide

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Best practice guidance for doctors and other health professionals on the provision of advice and treatment to young people under 16 on contraception, sexual and reproductive health

Doctors and health professionals have a duty of care and a duty of confidentiality to all patients, including under 16s.

This guidance applies to the provision of advice and treatment on contraception, sexual and reproductive health, including abortion.

Potential Q&As

All young people under 16 have a right to confidential advice from health professionals about sexual health/STIs, contraception and relationships.

Source: webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Resource Type: Guidance

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Under 16s: consent and confidentiality in sexual health services

Consent from parents is not legally necessary, although the involvement of parents is encouraged. (A parent is someone with legal parental responsibility. This is not always a biological parent.)

Young people are owed the same duties of care and confidentiality as adults. Confidentiality may only be broken when the health, safety or welfare of the young person, or others, would otherwise be at grave risk.

Source: fpa.org.uk

Resource Type: Factsheet

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Pharmacy Health Promotion Champions - Sexual Health
Confidentiality

Confidentiality is important to young people if they are to feel able to access support and services over sex related issues.

Source: lpc-online.org.uk

Resource Type: Presentation

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