Policy: Confidentiality

Confidentiality is defined as information and trust which patients give to members of our staff. The purpose of this policy is to assure that all volunteers understand the importance of confidentiality as it relates to information they may encounter in their volunteer duties.

The following information is included in the Volunteer Handbook. It is also reviewed in General Orientation, which is required of all volunteers before they begin their assignments.

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The volunteers are required in General Orientation to sign a form that confirms that this information has been reviewed and those forms become a part of the individual volunteer's file.

12.1 Confidentiality Standards

All volunteers are informed of the following guidelines:

1. Volunteers are expected to safeguard the patient's right to privacy by judiciously protecting information regarding the nature of illness, treatment, financial status or family or social situation.
2. No volunteer has the right to discuss any of this information, inside or outside of the hospital, with another volunteer, health system personnel, family member or acquaintance.
3. In instances where a patient and/or family member seeks advice regarding their care, volunteers must refrain from offering any advice, diagnosis, prognosis or other information that might be interpreted as a medical opinion. All such inquiries are to be referred to the appropriate hospital staff.
4. Volunteers should not seek professional advice from physicians, nurses or other medical personnel while serving in a volunteer capacity.
5. Volunteers are not to read patients’ charts or allow patients or patients’ families to read the chart. In instances when a volunteer’s role requires access to a patient’s chart (i.e. research, data collection, filing,) this access will be authorized by the volunteer’s direct supervisor.
6. Laws regarding confidentiality protection for mental health and substance abuse patients are particularly restrictive; the presence of these patients in the hospital is never acknowledged.
7. Patient information is never released without written consent from the individual or the guardian.
8. Failure to maintain confidentiality will result in disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the volunteer program.