Age-friendly Primary Health Care Centres Toolkit - World Health ...

AGE-FRIENDLY PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTRES TOOLKITIII.6 Privacy guidelines for confidential examinations and consultationsWhen the examination and consultation are conducted in a private environment with theassurance of confidentiality, patients and caregivers are more comfortable and tend tobe more forthcoming with medical and social information. Some older people areespecially uncomfortable discussing bodily functions, family or social problems, ordisrobing. They must be assured that their health and social information is shared onlywith their consent even to family members. This is of special concern when elder abuseis suspected.General practice on privacy and usual and locally legislated guidelines for maintenanceof confidentiality of patient information should be followed with particular attention to thefollowing:1. Physical privacy• Shield patient from public view during exam.o If the exam room has a door, keep it closed during consult and exam.o If not, provide curtain or screen whenever possible.• Uncover only part of body being examined.• Provide sheet or other covering.• Conduct consult out of hearing of others – especially if provider or patientneeds to speak loudly due to hearing deficit.• If caregiver or translator is present, ask them to stand outside of patientscreen/curtain.2. Confidentiality during consultation• Ask patient consent for family/accompanying person (friend or paid assistant)to be present during interview/exam.• Create opportunity for patient to see practitioner alone as desired – beattuned to discomfort in answering certain questions and offer to see themalone.• Request patient permission for translator to be in room during exam/interview.• Disclose only information to which patient has given consent even to familymembers/caregivers.• If needed to obtain comprehensive picture, interview patients and caregiversseparately with patient’s consent.• For patients with cognitive impairment and inability to provide history or giveconsent for sharing of information, disclose only necessary information on aneed to know basis in a respectful manner to patient.• Refrain from discussing patient specific information in the halls or lifts.94