Confidentiality: good
practice in handling
patient information
,Confidentiality: good practice in handling
patient information
Professional standards: More detailed guidance
This guidance came into effect 25 April 2017
It was updated on 25 May 2018.
You can find the latest version of all our professional standards at www.gmc-uk.org/guidance.
The GMC is a charity registered in
England and Wales (1089278)
and Scotland (SC037750).
,Contents
Confidentiality: good practice in handling patient information ........................................ 1
About our Confidentiality guidance ........................................................................... 4
Other materials available ......................................................................................... 5
Ethical and legal duties of confidentiality .................................................................. 6
Acting within the law.............................................................................................6
The main principles of this guidance......................................................................... 7
Disclosing patients' personal information: a framework.............................................. 7
When you can disclose personal information ............................................................. 7
Disclosing information with a patient's consent ......................................................... 9
Disclosing information when a patient lacks the capacity to consent ..........................10
Disclosures required or permitted by law .................................................................10
Disclosures approved under a legal process .............................................................10
Disclosures in the public interest .............................................................................11
Disclosures prohibited by law ..................................................................................11
Data protection law ................................................................................................11
Using and disclosing patient information for direct care ............................................12
Sharing information for direct care ....................................................................... 12
Sharing information with those close to the patient ............................................... 13
Disclosures about patients who lack capacity to consent ....................................... 14
Decision tool ..........................................................................................................16
Disclosures for the protection of patients and others ................................................17
Disclosing information to protect patients ............................................................. 17
Disclosing information to protect others ............................................................... 18
Using and disclosing patient information for secondary purposes ..............................21
Anonymised information ...................................................................................... 22
Disclosures required by statutes or the courts ...................................................... 23
Consent ............................................................................................................. 24
Disclosures for health and social care secondary purposes .................................... 25
Disclosures for financial or administrative purposes............................................... 25
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, The professional duty of candour and confidentiality ............................................. 25
Openness and learning from adverse incidents and near misses ............................ 26
Disclosures with specific statutory support............................................................ 26
Public interest disclosures for health and social care purposes ............................... 27
Ethical approval for research ............................................................................... 28
Requests from employers, insurers and other third parties........................................28
gmc-uk.org 3
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