This concept is valid, but as you say, it does seem rude not to introduce
yourself.
Indeed, if the person answering asks "Who's calling ?", its going to be hard
to say "its a secret".
The man's wife might get suspicious about a female receptionist who refuses
to identify herself.
Could it be that the patients decision to provide a number to the practice
is tacit agreement that the practice might use it ?
Should we make this an opt out system ?
Assume its OK, unless the patient says otherwise ?
Enter the number in the computer 02-9876 5432P for 'private' ?
This also spreads to other forms of social intercourse.
When I walk down the street to get my lunch, I bump into many of my
patients.
Do I pretend not to know them ?
Strictly speaking, based on the ideas of confidentiality, I should remain
aloof.
I don't think I can do this ?
Should I also keep a database of people's preferences regarding public
acknowledgement in the street ?
I better keep my pocket PC handy !
When a patient walks into a waiting room, they cannot expect that it will be
empty.
It is only a question of degree that the persons presence there is public.
Even if only one other person in the waiting room knows the patient, their
attendance is potentialy "public".
While we are bound by ethics and rules of confidentiality, the gossip 'grape
vine' knows no such restrictions.
To what levels do we take this ?
A private waiting room for each patient ?
But people will see them entering the surgery !
OK, a front door marked "Bookshop" with a secret "Surgery" entrance in the
back, next to the XXX rated magazines ?
Then people will see the patient going into "that bookshop ! <wink, wink>".
Perhaps the only confidential way to get to my surgery is 'point to point'
transporter.... "Beam me up Doc !"
David Pan
----- Original Message -----
From: "Oliver Frank" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "General Practice Computing Group Talk" <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2006 4:09 AM
Subject: Re: [GPCG_TALK] SMS reminders and privacy concerns?
Simon James wrote:
> What would happen with a traditional telephone reminder in the same
situation? Is there any consent given with home number reminders? Do
receptionists declare where they are calling from when asking to speak to
a
patient?
Ours don't, for that reason. It seems anti-social and rude for them to
phone a patient's home, office or mobile and say only: "Is Mary there?",
but that is what they have been taught to do at the staff courses to which
we have sent them, because it would breach the patient's privacy even to
say: "This is Debbie calling from Hampstead Medical Clinic. I would like
to speak to Mary."
Clearly it would help if our practice computer system had a kind of
communications screen in the patient's record in which we could record the
fact that Mary had explicitly told us that we can say who we are if we
need to phone her. We might need a field for every kind of communication
and every phone number that Mary might have. For example, a field with
her work phone number may say: "Do not identify the practice or yourself
if you have to phone Mary on this number". This is beginning to sound a
bit tedious even as I write this.
I heard a fascinating piece on Radio National about the consternation
caused by the introduction of the telephone. There were fears that social
mores and order would break down. Before the telephone, people
(especially men) could meet young ladies only through a formal process of
making an approach to the girl's family to express interest in getting to
know the young lady, and then being introduced at an arranged meeting only
in the presence of the young lady's family or chaperone. With the
telephone, anybody could just phone her up directly. I suppose what we
are seeing here is that communication has become so unstructured that for
sensitive and important matters like medical care, we now have to
re-introduce some rules about how we communicate with our patients.
--
Oliver Frank, general practitioner
255 North East Road, Hampstead Gardens, South Australia 5086
Phone 08 8261 1355 Fax 08 8266 5149 Mobile 0407 181 683
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