Privacy of patients' information in hospital lifts: observational study

doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7422.1024

BMJ 2003;327:1024-1025 (1 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7422.1024

Paper

Privacy of patients' information in hospital lifts: observational study

Simone N Vigod, medical student¹, Chaim M Bell, assistant professor², John M A Bohnen, associate professor³

¹ St Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, 30 Bond Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5B 1W8, ² Department of Medicine, St Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, ³ Departments of Surgery and Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, St Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto

Correspondence to: J M A Bohnen bohnenj@smh.toronto.on.ca

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Introduction

Respect for the confidentiality of patients' information isa basic principle of ethical and effective medical practice.It ensures individual patients' privacy, and, more broadly,it upholds public perception of the quality of the healthcaresystem and its professionals. Observational studies have shownthat breaches of patients' confidentiality by healthcare professionalsoccurred in 3%-7% of lift rides in hospitals.^1
2

Even though most healthcare professionals know the limits ofconfidentiality well, they have trouble applying them to theirbehaviour, particularly in hospital lifts where discussionsof patients' information may be overheard.³ To decrease therisk of compromising patients' confidentiality in public spacesin hospitals, we investigated the number and nature of commentsthat compromise patient confidentiality in hospital lifts andthe reactions of colleagues who witnessed these comments.

Participants, methods, and results

We instructed medical students in the information privacy policyof St Michael's Hospital, a tertiary care centre in Toronto,Canada. They recorded the . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Breach of patients� confidentiality and Data Protection Act 1998 can be legally prosecuted: Humayon Pervez
bmj.com, 1 Nov 2003 [Full text]
Lifts are not the only place of breach of confidentiallity: Sebastian Hendricks
bmj.com, 3 Nov 2003 [Full text]
Not only lifts: Graham R Howarth
bmj.com, 3 Nov 2003 [Full text]
Better use the stairs?: Timothy D Heymann
bmj.com, 24 Nov 2003 [Full text]
Patient commentary: Heather Goodare
bmj.com, 31 Mar 2004 [Full text]