Ethics: Confidentiality, Privacy, and what constitutes a medical record
Today the discussion will focus primarily on the medical record, our legal obligations regarding confidentiality, and privacy, when that undertaking can be broken, either because of risk to the patient or others or by legal proceedings. We will be discussing various situations that have occurred previously in the program as well as other possible scenarios that could apply. We are dealing with a group of highly traumatized individuals whose lives are complex and whose relationships are also complex. They are often involved in divorces, custody hearings, child endangerment situations, drug and alcohol abuse and sometimes even illegal activities. It is important for us to be aware of our obligations not only to the patient but also to others who may be impacted by our patient’s behaviour.
