Patient confidentiality
Maintaining confidentiality is a vital part of the relationship between a health professional and a person under their care. This is particularly crucial in the context of pharmacy consultation services, where pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are entrusted with sensitive health information and responsible for providing appropriate care. Our guidance, In practice guidance on confidentiality states that people trust that their confidentiality and privacy will be maintained by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, whether in a healthcare setting – such as a hospital, primary care or community pharmacy setting – in person, or online.
GPhC guidance
Our equality guidance for pharmacies highlights the importance of maintaining confidentiality and respecting peoples' right to privacy. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians must ensure that any discussions or information-sharing related to a person's condition or treatment occur in a private and secure setting, away from the public view. This is especially important to remember when providing services for minor ailments through Pharmacy First in England, NHS Pharmacy First in Scotland, and the Common Ailment Service in Wales, where people may seek care for more sensitive health concerns such as urinary tract infections or skin conditions.
Our guidance to ensure a safe and effective pharmacy team expects pharmacy owners to make sure everyone in the pharmacy team understands the principles of privacy and confidentiality and puts these into practice. The pharmacy team should take steps to maintain privacy and confidentiality and to ensure discussions are not overheard by people not involved in the person’s care.
Patient and public voice forum
Our patient and public voice forum allows us to listen to the experiences, needs and views of patients and the public so that we can better understand the issues that matter most to them. We asked the forum to consider privacy and confidentiality during community pharmacy consultations. Our forum members were clear that they expected pharmacy services to be provided in settings that feel like confidential clinical care environments.
The forum highlighted the evolving need for additional consultation space in community pharmacies with the changes to pharmacist initial education and training and as community pharmacies across England, Scotland and Wales offer further clinical services. Our panel members were clear that the additional roles and responsibilities being carried out by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians would require further use of clinical consultation spaces to maintain privacy and dignity.
“If they’re going to take on the responsibility of prescribing, they’re going to have to change their practices.”
GPhC forum member
Disclosing personal information
Our patient voice panel members shared examples of instances where they had been asked to disclose personal data (name, address, telephone number) and health information in a public area at the pharmacy counter instead of being offered a private consultation room. Our panel members suggested other ways of confirming their name and address (for example when collecting prescriptions) through showing pharmacy staff a proof of name or address, or barcode scanning technology. In other cases, panel members overheard sensitive conversations between pharmacy staff and people seeking advice.
The patient forum felt that privacy and confidentiality were sometimes overlooked during the initial stages of some consultations. The forum suggested that pharmacy teams could optimise the use of consultation rooms to protect public confidentiality, privacy, and dignity.
Pharmacy environment
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians should be mindful of their conversations, ensuring that information is not inadvertently disclosed to other people or personnel. Upholding a person’s confidentiality requires pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to be sensitive to individual needs and preferences. People from diverse backgrounds may have unique cultural or personal considerations that affect their comfort level with sharing information during consultations. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians should consider these factors and adapt their approach accordingly, always prioritising the person's right to privacy.
It is important that people receive pharmacy services from pharmacy premises that are suitable for the services being provided and which protect and maintain their health, safety, and wellbeing. Our standards for registered pharmacies outline our expectations in relation to the physical environment and the importance of patient and public confidentiality:
- standard 3.2: premises protect the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of patients and the public who receive pharmacy services
- standard 3.5: pharmacy services are provided in an environment that is appropriate for the provision of healthcare
Protecting patient data
Beyond the physical environment, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians must also be vigilant in protecting patient data and records in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Any documentation or electronic health records relating to clinical consultations must be stored securely and accessed only by authorised personnel. All pharmacy staff including counter staff and delivery drivers must undergo regular GDPR training to ensure compliance with GDPR legislation.
Culturally competent consultations
Irrespective of background, most people want (and most health professionals aim to provide) high quality care that is accessible and sensitively delivered.
A recent BMJ article provides strategies and approaches to improve consultations with people from minority groups including:
- Understand your population demographics
- Improve access to care and work with local communities
- Creating a welcoming atmosphere
- Implement staff diversity training
- Communication and respond to your patient’s and local population language needs
Our guidance on religion, personal values and beliefs states that every person is an individual with their own values, needs and concerns. Person-centred care is delivered when pharmacy professionals understand what is important to the individual and then adapt the care to meet their needs making the care of the person their priority. All pharmacy professionals can demonstrate ‘person-centredness’, whether they provide care directly, by thinking about the impact their decisions have on people.
Our guidance, In practice: Guidance on maintaining clear sexual boundaries outlines how pharmacy professionals should maintain clear sexual boundaries when providing pharmacy services to patients and the public. Cultural differences can affect a person’s view of their personal boundaries and what is appropriate. Pharmacy professionals need to be sensitive to this, and always treat people receiving care as individuals in a way that respects their views and maintains their dignity. For example, an individual may prefer to talk to or be examined by a pharmacy professional of the same gender or have another person present.
Conclusion
By meeting the principles of patient confidentiality, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can provide an environment of trust and safety during the consultation process. This not only supports the effective delivery of care but also demonstrates the pharmacy's commitment to following the GPhC's Equality Guidance and our professional standards. Ultimately, upholding confidentiality is a critical aspect of providing high-quality, person-centred care.