Confidentiality is a Must for Nursing Assistants
Nursing Assistants are exposed to a wide variety of events taking place in the medical field, as are other healthcare providers. If your medical practice isn’t ensuring that all members of your healthcare team are taking confidentiality seriously, you need to do so. Let UPS Healthcare help the members of your practice stay informed about the importance of maintaining confidentiality in all aspects of their jobs.
Nursing Assistants are well trained in the policies and procedures of the facility. While it is important to follow them, it is not recommended to discuss them outside of the facility. Whether it’s specific information in a patient’s file, details about a communicable disease or simply who you’re talking to, you want to make sure you know the rules.
Confidentiality Means Protecting Patient Privacy
Patients requiring care in a medical facility are to have their privacy protected. This means you do not discuss their care or other personal information with any other person except staff they have an interest in the care of that patient. Confidentiality becomes an issue when you know someone in the facility or someone asks you why someone else is in there.
All patients have the right to their privacy being maintained. Compromising this information is a direct violation of every medical practice. Providing such information can result in termination of your job, and in some cases, the loss of your Nursing Assistant Certification.
Confidentiality Means Following Policy about Communicable Diseases
Communicable diseases that surface in medical facilities demand confidentiality as well. It is important that you follow the policies and procedures set in place by the particular facility you work with. However, do not release information regarding such diseases to anyone. This could result in a panic over the possibility of an epidemic and lead to patients wanting to leave the facility against medical advice.
The proper medical staff will release information on communicable diseases to the proper agencies, such as the area health department. They can then help the medical facility incorporate a plan of action to remedy the solution. The decision might be made to share the information with the area newspapers in an effort to allow them to protect themselves and to seek medical attention if they display the symptoms of a communicable disease that requires treatment.
Confidentiality Applies to ALL Medical Staff
Confidentiality also includes other medical staff. Nursing Assistants should not be disclosing any information they overhear among other staff in regards to a patient. Likewise, they should not disclose any information that they hear about the private interactions of staff. Often referred to as gossip, this violation of confidentiality can result in poor working relationships. The result is often a stressful work environment and patients not receiving the best care because lines of communication are not open.
To protect yourself, it is important that you:
- Understand the basics of confidentiality
- Familiarize yourself with specific policies and procedures in place for the facility you work for prior to accepting employment
- Report any violations of the confidentiality policies and procedures to the proper person. Not doing so makes you as much a part of the violation as those who committed it.
While it is human nature to discuss details experienced in everyday life, make sure the information you are sharing in regards to your work are being shared with those who need to know the information.
Breaches of confidentiality are humiliating for individuals who need to be in a medical facility and costly to the facility itself- bringing down its ratings, decreasing trust, and inviting lawsuits. Let United Physician Services help you ensure that your Nursing Assistant team is prepared to represent your facility well through protecting confidentiality on every level.