This document defines confidentiality in healthcare, outlines what information is considered confidential, and discusses the consequences of breaching confidentiality. Confidentiality requires healthcare providers to keep patient health information private without consent. Breaching confidentiality by disclosing private patient information to a third party without consent can result in termination, lawsuits, criminal charges, and reputational damage for healthcare providers. The document also provides examples of confidential patient information and strategies organizations can employ to uphold confidentiality.

1. Vanica Pharoah
MHA 690: Health Capstone
September 3rd 2015
Instructor: Jeffery Trask

2. At the completion of this presentation readers
should be able to:
 Define confidentiality
 Understand what information is considered
confidential
 Know the consequences for breach of
confidentiality

3. Confidentiality is one of the core
duties of medical practice. It requires
health care providers to keep a
patient’s personal health
information private unless consent
to release the information is
provided by the patient (Bord,
Burke, & Dudzinski, 2013).

4.  To avoid trust in physician-patient relationship
being diminished.
 Can cause negative impact on patient care due
to patient being not willing to share personal
information.
 Creates a trusting environment
 Increase the patient’s willingness to seek care.
For conditions that might be stigmatizing, such
as reproductive, sexual, public health, and
psychiatric health concerns

5.  Social Security number
 Address
 Medical record number
 Diagnosis
 Insurance information
 Test results (labs, radiology scans, x-ray etc.)
 Religion
 Martial status
Race
 Many more…

6. Confidentiality should be upheld by all staff members
working in a healthcare system. This ranges from the
CEO down to the bathroom attendants.
The obligation to protect the confidentiality of patient
health information is imposed by a myriad of state
laws and the federal Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) as amended under
the Health Information Technology for Economic and
Clinical Health Act (the “HITECH Act”). Protected
health information (PHI) can only be used or disclosed
by covered entities and their business associates for
purposes of treatment, payment or healthcare
operations without the patient’s consent (ACHE, 2013).

7. A breach of confidentiality occurs
when a patient's private information
is disclosed to a third party without
his or her consent. There are limited
exceptions to this, including
disclosures to state health officials
and court orders requiring medical
records to be produced

8.  Termination – is one of the first result of breach of PHI
 Lawsuit damage - An employer can also sue an
employee for breach of confidentiality, and if
successful at trial, the employer can obtain monetary
damages from the employee
 Criminal Charges - a breach of confidentiality can
result in criminal charges against the employee. A
breach of confidentiality may constitute theft of the
employer's proprietary information or intellectual
property. Theft is a crime punishable by fine or
imprisonment.
 Reputation - breach of confidentiality can permanently
tarnish an employee's reputation.

9.  Defined policies and procedures, which require employees
at all levels to protect personal health information from
unauthorized or unnecessary disclosure.
 A confidentiality agreement signed by all practice
employees (including temps) upon hiring. Employees must
agree to abide by these policies and procedures.
 New-employee orientation and training
sessions addressing patient confidentiality and the
practice’s commitment to protecting patients’ healthcare
information.
 New-employee orientation and training
sessions addressing patient confidentiality and the
practice’s commitment to protecting patients’ healthcare
information.

10.  ACHE. (2012). Health Information Confidentiality. Retrieved, from
https://www.ache.org/policy/hiconf.cfm
 Bord, J., Burke, W., & Dudzinski, D. (2013). Confidentiality.
Retrieved, from
https://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/confiden.html
 FindLaw. (n.d.). Breaches of Doctor-Patient Confidentiality.
Retrieved, from http://injury.findlaw.com/medical-
malpractice/breaches-of-doctor-patient-
confidentiality.html#sthash.7ltSUT2h.dpuf
 Fowler, P. (n.d.). Employee Consequences for Breach of
Confidentiality. Retrieved, from
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/employee-consequences-breach-
confidentiality-15476.html
 NCMIC. (n.d.). Are You Protecting Your Patients' Confidential
Information? Retrieved, from https://www.ncmic.com/prc/risk-
management/documentation/are-you-protecting-your-patients-
confidential-information.aspx