At Rosehill Dental Practice, the need for the strict confidentiality of personal information about patients is taken very seriously. This document sets out our policy for maintaining confidentiality and all members of the practice team must comply with these safeguards as part of their contract of employment/contract for services with the practice.
The importance of confidentiality
The relationship between dentist and patient is based on the understanding that any information revealed by the patient to the dentist will not be divulged without the patient’s consent. Patients have the right to privacy and it is vital that they give the dentist full information on their state of health to ensure that treatment is carried out safely.
The intensely personal nature of health information means that many patients would be reluctant to provide the dentist with information if they were not sure that it would not be passed on. If confidentiality is breached, the dentist/dental hygienist/dental therapist/dental nurse faces investigation by the General Dental Council and possible erasure from the Dentists or DCP Register; and may also face legal action by the patient for damages and, for dentists, prosecution for breach of the 1998 Data Protection Act.
All staff must follow the General Dental Council’s rules for maintaining patient confidentiality contained in Standards for dental professionals and Principles of patient confidentiality.
If confidentiality is breached, each registered dental professional involved is responsible to the Council for their individual conduct.
What is personal information?
In a dental context, personal information held by a dentist about a patient includes:
- the patient’s name, current and previous addresses, bank account/credit card details, telephone number/e-mail address and other means of personal identification such as physical description
- information that the individual is or has been a patient of the practice or attended, cancelled or failed to attend an appointment on a certain day
- information concerning the patient’s physical, mental or oral health or condition information about the treatment that is planned, is being or has been provided
- information about family members and personal circumstances supplied by the patient to others
- the amount that was paid for treatment, the amount owing or the fact that the patient is a debtor to the practice.
Principles of confidentiality
This practice has adopted the following three principles of confidentiality:
Personal information about a patient:
- is confidential in respect of that patient and to those providing the patient with health care
- should only be disclosed to those who would be unable to provide effective care and treatment without that information (the need-to-know concept) and
- such information should not be disclosed to third parties without the consent of the patient except in certain specific circumstances described in this policy.
Date : December 2012
review date: December 2013