Confidentiality
Also called: privacy, protected information, HIPAA
Definition
The obligation to protect information about the people you serve, limiting disclosure to those with a legitimate need and to what law and employer policy permit. It covers names, images, recordings, written records, and details that could identify someone indirectly.
In plain language
Keeping information about the people you work with private. This covers names, photos, notes, and any detail that could let someone work out who you mean.
Examples
Discussing a learner only with the staff working with them, and only where the conversation cannot be overheard.
Storing written records where your employer's policy requires rather than in a personal bag.
Not confidentiality
Posting about a session on social media without names, believing that removing the name makes it anonymous. Details can still identify a person.
Telling a family member about your day in a way that includes what a learner did and where.
See also
Written from
- bacb-rbt-ethics-code-2 — Confidentiality and social media
Written from the confidentiality and public-statement structure of the technician ethics code. No code text reproduced.
This entry has not yet been through clinical review. Treat it as a draft.