Foundation of Ethics
Written by Hope DeVall
The Mind Body Connection
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is maintaining the privacy of your clients’ personal information. There are State and Federal law which protect each client’s confidentiality. This includes all personal information obtained from or about a client, whether it pertains to physical, emotional, sexual, financial or any other area of information. The duty of maintaining confidentiality is absolute and binding on all health care professionals.
There are a few areas where a therapist should be extra cautious in documentation of their clients’ files, in order not to breech client confidentiality:
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Computer documentation. Shared computers or systems, especially internet programs make you much more likely to breech confidentiality. Extra care should be taken to make sure that any such programs are secure
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Third party (insurance) payors often ask for information in a person’s medical record. You must obtain client consent before releasing this information.
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Sharing clients with other healthcare practitioners. You are not allowed to discuss a client’s case with another healthcare provider without his or her consent.
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Its important to remember that Federal law requires that health practitioners obtain written consent from clients before sharing a client’s records with any other health professional. Regardless of the situation, do not discuss another person’s health or medical information with anyone unless the person has given you explicit written consent.
