Why a medical clinic must have a privacy policy?

Since the time of Hippocrates, medical professionals have taken an oath to keep their patient’s information among themselves. The privacy of patients in the field of healthcare is very important. If not taken proper care of it, the patient may face issues. Medical clinics must have a General practice privacy policy to protect their patients’ health data as sometimes the health information can be sensitive. 

It is the right of every patient to have privacy regarding their treatment. This delicate piece of information must be kept only between the doctor and the patient. No piece of medical information should be provided without the consent of the patient. 

What is a privacy policy?

A privacy policy is a document explaining how an organization collects, handles, and processes its customer, client, or employees’ personal information. The privacy policy is about the question of who can have access to your personal information and under what conditions. 

What does medical clinic data consist of?

Medical clinic data consists of a set of rules and regulations that ensure the patients that their data and medical information will not be shared with anyone. The data are:

• The patient’s name and address
• Services provided to the patient
• The patient’s health condition

Why is privacy protection important in a medical clinic?

Protection of privacy in a medical clinic can be important for several reasons. Ensuring the patients’ data can help in building trust between the patient and the healthcare system as a whole. There are other reasons than building trust why protection of data is important in a medical clinic.

• To avoid penalties- The rules and regulations of a patient’s privacy are very important as the government may charge the medical clinic with penalties; however, if a healthcare worker is seen to breach a patient’s information, they might get suspended for some time.
• Trust- A patient has to share every piece of information with the doctor. So, the patient needs to be assured that their medical information will not be shared with anyone.

What is a General Practitioner?

A general practitioner deals with all common types of medical conditions. They refer patients to hospitals if they need urgent or specialist doctors. A general practitioner takes care of people with chronic illnesses. 

Characteristics of general practitioner

The characteristics of a general practitioner are:

• Person centredness

General practitioners are the ones who understand the health conditions of their patients minutely. They try to understand the patient’s needs to help them overcome their problems. 

• Providing care

As the process of general practitioners can be long, they need to build a strong relationship with their patients. They try to build a strong patient-doctor relationship with them. 

• Therapeutic Skills

The general practitioner must have high-level therapeutic skills to engage their patients in understanding their health conditions. 

Role of a General Practitioner

General practitioners play an important role in the world of health care.

• They are the first person to come in contact with the patients. 
• They are the first person to coordinate with the patients and then refer them to any other specialist. 
• A general practitioner takes care of the patients and their families to give them moral support. 
• They provide advice on health care. 
• As General practitioner is so important in the world of health care, they must also have General Practice Privacy Policy to keep their patients ensured. 

Who is a health professional lawyer? 

A health professional lawyer is a person who takes care of bioethics, privacy policy, new rules, and regulations, or sometimes fighting a case for its client’s medical information. For example, suppose a patient face any mistake did to them by a surgeon during the operation procedure leading to additional illness. In that case, they can hire a healthcare professional lawyer who can help them with the case and with compensation. 

Health professional lawyers are like other lawyers, but the only difference is health professional lawyers focus on the aspects of the medical industry or the health of the public in general. 

Skills required to be a health professional lawyer

• Technical skills
• Think critically
• Skills to analyze things
• Skills in researching
• Communication skills
• Skills in writing

Other roles of a Health professional lawyer are:

• Interviewing patients who faced problems in the health care system.
• Investigating the case of their clients
• Researching the case
• Making doctors follow healthcare regulations. 
• Managing legal details of the hospitals. 
• Legal advice on health care business
• Knowing patients’ rights. 

Thus, a medical clinic must have a privacy policy. If you face any kind of breaches in your health care information, you can opt for a health professional lawyer who can manage your case and bring justice to you.