In order to recoup their money, they may take legal action against your firm. Professional indemnity insurance is designed to cover against such instances. Breaches of confidentiality claims cost UK organisations millions of pounds each year. However, it is not only large companies who have to be aware of breaches of confidentiality.
Increasingly, smaller businesses and freelancers are at risk. It is important to remember that maintaining confidentiality is not only a contractual requirement, but also a moral one, and it can destroy business relationships very quickly. Whatever the size of your business, it is important to have the appropriate policies and procedures in place to help protect both parties' data.
Providing confidentiality for your business begins with the creation of a confidentiality policy if you have employees, make sure they read and sign it. Sharing information to family members: If patient specifically requests that family members are not told then their wishes should be respected unless it is a notifiable disease.
Rarely, disclosure to 3rd parties may be justified if telling the patient would be injurious to his health i. TB, meningitis etc. Full list see the health protection agency guidance3. This is a statutory duty even if the doctor must breach confidentiality.
Doctors may breach confidentiality if there's a risk of serious harm to others - Common law: W vs. Egdell W a psychiatrist released a negative report about a paranoid schizophrenic's who had previously killed 5 people mental state - claiming that he was not safe to be released. Egdell's legal team withdrew W's report, but W in the interest of further treatment sent a copy to the hospital in which Egdell was residing.
Egdell then claimed a breach of confidentiality by W, which was dismissed by the court. Thereby setting precedent that doctors could breach confidentiality in the interests of public safety. The consequences of a breach of confidentiality include dealing with the ramifications of lawsuits, loss of business relationships, and employee termination.
This occurs when a confidentiality agreement, which is used as a legal tool for businesses and private citizens, is ignored. A confidentiality agreement is also known as a non-disclosure or secrecy agreement. These agreements are used to protect company secrets, processes, products, trademarks, and patents.
HIPAA laws keep all personal medical information private. Another possible employee consequence for breach of confidentiality is defending against criminal charges. Such a charge is typically reserved for serious or extreme cases in which the breach caused significant financial, physical or emotional loss. Theft is a violation of criminal law that in some instances can be punishable by a stiff fine or imprisonment. As a business owner, you would report the theft to law enforcement, and the state or federal government would charge your employee with the crime.
Although a tarnished reputation may not seem as harsh as a big fine, it can have serious, long-term consequences for an employee who is guilty of breach of confidentiality. This is especially true if the employee works in a specialized industry in which competing companies are very familiar with one another.
0コメント