Doctor <--> patient confidentiality

[bluegate]

In principle, doctors and nurses shouldn't discuss their patient's ailments, complaints or other information with third parties not related to their work. And in a perfect world I would like to think that everyone respects this rule and that there really is a thing like doctor-patient confidentiality.

However, it has come to my attention that this isn't always the case. For example, a friend of mine who lives in the UK has a sister who is a nurse at a doctor's practice and apparently he ofter overhears his sister gossiping about the patients to his mom and her friends.

Upon first hearing this story I was a bit worried, because the same thing might be happening at the practice where I go to when I have health problems, sadly I don't know anyone who works there so I can't find out whether the staff there goes around their day gossiping about patients to just about anybody they know.

Well I didn't really have a message or anything I wanted to convey when I started writing this post; I just wanted to voice my concerns regarding the decline of morals in these professions.
What do you all think about this? Any similar stories?

 

[Doclector]

Well, it's more than professional courtesy, it's the law. If she or anyone else is caught talking about such things without permission, they'll be in serious trouble.

So I don't think it's that common.

 

[kurupt87]

It's like Odgical says; you can talk about it, you just can't name who it is.

 

[Psykoma]

It's not really just a doctor/patient confidentiality, it's more like a patient/everyone who could look at your file confidentiality.
When I was volunteering at a hospital, even though the positions I volunteered for had no patient contact, I was still doing filing and stuff and could see their names, so I was still signed into confidentiality saying that under no circumstances could I name a patient to anyone.

 

[Thaluikhain]

As mentioned, you can't say who it is, but you can say it's happened.

Otherwise imagine the problems, doctors couldn't give any kind of statistical information about how many patients they've treated for X, how many prescriptions for Y, what the effects of Z have been.

 

[Quaxar]

I really don't want to shatter any dreams but every kind of medcical profession does that. Oh I could tell you stories... but I think in this particular thread I rather not, doesn't look like the place.

 

[McMullen]

Same thing exists in higher education. You can say "One student did x last year" or "4 students got As, 2 students got Cs", but you can't say "Phil got 73%", even if it's his parents asking.

So, as long as no actual names or anything traceable to the actual person was mentioned, they can talk about it. This is probably a good thing, as it allows doctors and professors to advise each other on how to deal with certain situations that may not have been covered in training.

 

[Tom_green_day]

I don't think it's always right, but I think that in certain circumstances it is necessary. Like if the information told by the patient to the doctor regards the human rights of other people, like important information in a court case or information that could affect others' health. In those cases, the doctor needs to pass the informatino on to someone who can deal with it in the appropriate manner.

Same thing exists in higher education. You can say "One student did x last year" or "4 students got As, 2 students got Cs", but you can't say "Phil got 73%", even if it's his parents asking.

I'm pretty sure you can say that, although it might be different where you live as I live in Britain. A parent of mine is a teacher and they have no reservations telling people results should it be necessary.

 

[DrunkenMonkey]

Yes doctors are supposed to keep doctor patient confidentiality, but more often than not it's up to their discretion to keep it, although I know that people win a lot of lawsuits over doctors breaking it.

 

[MrTub]

I don't think it's always right, but I think that in certain circumstances it is necessary. Like if the information told by the patient to the doctor regards the human rights of other people, like important information in a court case or information that could affect others' health. In those cases, the doctor needs to pass the informatino on to someone who can deal with it in the appropriate manner.

Same thing exists in higher education. You can say "One student did x last year" or "4 students got As, 2 students got Cs", but you can't say "Phil got 73%", even if it's his parents asking.

I'm pretty sure you can say that, although it might be different where you live as I live in Britain. A parent of mine is a teacher and they have no reservations telling people results should it be necessary.

At least in Sweden once you turn 18 your parents has no rights at all to demand information about their son/daughter unless the student gives permission to the school.

 

[Abomination]

I think the OP needs to be a bit more specific about what "gossip" the nurse was going on about. If she never named anyone then it's certainly not a breach of privacy.

 

[lacktheknack]

I'm friends with a frankly boggling amount of nurses, so I hear all kinds of stories. I've heard about the family that turned a birth into a bizarre team-building exercise (complete with Crowd Wave done in time with the contractions), I've heard of the guy who had perianal warts so massive that they covered his genitalia, and I've heard about the guy who projectile vomited all over my friend, his bed, the next patient's bed, the counter, and partway out the door... all at the same time.

The key here is no names or descriptions are given. It seems like fair game to me. I tell funny stories about bizarre or unreasonable customers on Facebook all the time, I don't see what's so different about the hospital patient as long as I don't know who they are.

 

[Angie7F]

Only in a perfect world...
Gossiping is too fun