Question

One of your neighbors is admitted to the unit where you work. A relative of yours calls to tell you he’s heard a rumor that the neighbor has a communicable disease. Because you work on the unit and have access to records, your relative asks you to find out if the rumor is true.

Answer 1

Health care professionals and the staffs working in the healthcare sector have a responsibility in maintaining confidentiality and privacy of patient information .They are not supposed to inform this to any one without patient consent .Doing so is considered to be breach of confidentiality and privacy .This is a legal concern and definitely will put one under legal issues if they discloses patient information. So even though the relative calls inform them in a professional way that personal or patient information cannot be shared to non consented person .