Disaster narratives in pharmacists’ journals usually describe accounts of inappropriate breach of medical dispensary, or involve issues regarding confidentiality. One recent article publication in Chemist & Druggist (2012), portrayed a situation in which a woman walks up to a pharmacy counter, hands the clerk a prescription bottle, demanding to know what symptoms the medicine is for (p. 278). The prescription is not hers, although most likely she is the caregiver for the elderly man who is homebound. In this case, the pharmacist must proceed quite cautiously due to striving to protect all of the confidential healthcare information passing through the dispensary. As one can clearly see, privacy, legality, and ethical behavior are all wrapped up in the nature of confidentiality. This essay attempts to present a cogent analysis and explanation of what confidentiality is, within the context of pharmacy practice, and thus, why it is such a critically important component.
Patient confidentiality plays a key role in the idea of pharmacy practices in guarding the information of those receiving medicines they prescribe. According to a document appearing in Pharmacy Ethics (2000), dedicated to the advancement of best healthcare practices among professionals, patient confidentiality and pharmacy practice – go together. One typical scenario, for example, may be when a pharmacist is working in the back portion of the office and a technician loudly yells out, to ask about the medication. Considering that the pharmacy is, in fact, in a public place, this may not be the wisest way to treat patient information as confidential. See the problem? Furthermore, pharmacists are challenged because he or she may have long waiting lines of people, anxious and enclosed in an environment which “easily accessible,” making it even “more important” to be cognizant of patients’ confidential information (“Patient Confidentiality,” 2000, p. 1). In today’s world it is even more important due to greater access to all kinds of information on the Internet, particularly about drugs, giving those with malevolent intentions the ability to concoct less than wholesome plans.
It is common knowledge to hear about how the FBI has thwarted some plan to poison a person to death, with the use of pharmaceutically available medicines. While it is true that this situation presents an extreme case, it is not altogether unlikely. Nevertheless, ethics and legality comprise chief reasons why confidentiality practices are so important for pharmacy practitioners. An excellent pharmacy practice manual describes confidentiality in terms of several aspects. Some of those aspects include perspectives from, or pertaining to: (a) Non-pharmacist owners, (b) Pharmacist registrants, (c) Software vendors as third-party entities, (d) Non-pharmacy and pharmacy designated persons (“PharmaNet Confidentiality and Pharmacy,” 2013). If you really think about it, although workers or third-party interactors may have access to patient clinical information because of centralized computer systems, prying into the personal information of others is not acceptable.
One article cites a passage from “Health care Law and Ethics” to further help explain why confidentiality is such an important component of pharmacy practice. Reprinted in the Pharmacy Ethics (2000) publication, the quote says “trust is an important requirement of civilized behavior,” and “if confidentiality” in the doctor-patient relationship are lacking, then violating such trust becomes a legal matter (“Patient Confidentiality and Pharmacy,” 2000, p. 3). There are advanced legal and regulatory guidelines specified to the pharmacy industry, in terms of professional standards and suggested protocols for engagement of following patterns of ethical behaviors – although all provisional materials, are not necessarily mandatory. One link on their website, references a document written by the staff at the General Pharmaceutical Council, suggesting certain standards of conduct and ethical performance for pharmacists by reminding them about obtaining patient consent. This task reflects a responsibility that all pharmacy professionals should apply, thus adhering to policies and law constraints, as well as using common sense and courtesy in an ethical way.
References
Carers and confidentiality. (2012). Chemist & Druggist, 278(6844), 16.
Library of BC Pharmacy Practice Manual. (2013). PharmaNet Confidentiality Q & A [Data file]. Retrieved from http://library.bcpharmacists.org/G-PharmaNet/G-2_Resources/5050-PharmaNet_Confidentiality_QA.pdf
Pharmacy Ethics. (2000). Patient confidentiality and pharmacy practice [Data file]. Retrieved from http://rxethics.org/Desai%20DNP%20Edited%20PDF.pdf
Pharmacy Regulation. (2015). Guidance [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.pharmacyregulation.org/standards/guidance
