Privacy Policy

• No personal information given or received in confidence is passed on to anyone else without the patient’s prior consent. To obtain consent a patient is advised what information will be released and why and the likely consequences of the information release. The patient is given an opportunity to withhold their permission to share information, unless exceptional circumstances apply, and a record is made on their notes of whether or not they gave their permission.
• If a patient consents to sharing information about them the team member will ensure that all recipients of the information understand that it is confidential.
• If a patient’s information or images are used for research or marketing the team member will advise the patient how these will be used, check that the patient understands what s/he is agreeing to, obtain and record the patient’s consent to their use and only release the minimum information for the purpose. The patient will be advised that s/he can withdraw permission at any time.
• If it is not necessary for a patient to be identified, they will remain anonymous in any information released.
• The duty to keep information confidential also covers originals and copies of a patient’s photographs, videos or audio recordings, including those made on a mobile phone. No images or recordings will be made without the patient’s permission.
• Patient information is kept confidential even after death

Before releasing information without the patient’s permission, an effort is always made to either convince the patient to release the information himself or herself or give the practice permission to do so, with the details of the discussion fully documented in the patient record. If obtaining consent from a patient is not practical or appropriate or if the patient will not give their permission, the team member will obtain advice from their professional indemnity organisation before releasing it.