Confidentiality Barrier
There is a simple approach which would have a big impact on the involvement of families in treatment – talk to them. Too often family members discover that they can’t get basic information about their relative when they call the hospital or clinic. They are told that the information is confidential and protected by statute. Common sense and common courtesy, at the least, should tell us that every patient, upon admission, should be asked if he or she would like to sign a release of information form allowing staff to communicate with specific family members. This is rarely done in US hospitals and clinics.
Even without a signed permission to release information, communication is possible. As Robert Liberman writes: “Too many practitioners pay obeisance to a misguided conception of privacy and confidentiality. There is no violation of confidentiality when a clinician solicits information from family members. Can anyone picture an internist or surgeon failing to invite a close family member to provide confirming and converging information regarding the patient as a key element in diagnosis and choice of treatment? Relatives are lucky if they get in to see the professional responsible for the patient’s treatment, much less hear of the patient’s diagnosis and prognosis. Plainly speaking, relatives are ignored by mental health professionals.” *
*R.P. Liberman, Recovery from Disability, American Psychiatric Publishing, 2008, p299
Every patient, upon admission should be asked if he or she would like to sign a release of information form allowing staff to communicate with specific family members.
