How does the Health and Social Care Act 2012 relate to confidentiality?

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 sets out the requirements for providers of health and social care services to have appropriate arrangements in place to protect the confidentiality of patient information. Under the Act, providers must have due regard to the need to protect the confidentiality of patient information when making decisions about the provision of care.

The Act includes a number of specific provisions relating to the confidentiality of patient information, including the duty of confidence, the requirements for patient consent, and the disclosure of patient information without consent.

The duty of confidence is a legal principle that requires providers of health and social care services to keep patient information confidential. This means that providers must not disclose patient information to anyone without the patient’s consent, unless there is a lawful basis for doing so.

The requirements for patient consent are set out in the Act and in the Code of Practice on Patient Confidentiality. The Act requires patients to be given information about how their information will be used and to have the opportunity to object to the use of their information. Patients must also be given the opportunity to opt out of the disclosure of their information to third parties.

The Code of Practice sets out the circumstances in which patient information can be disclosed without consent. These include cases where the disclosure is required by law, or where the disclosure is necessary to protect the public from serious harm.

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 is a significant piece of legislation that sets out the legal framework for the protection of patient confidentiality. The Act provides a number of specific protections for patient confidentiality, and requires providers of health and social care services to take steps to ensure that patient information is kept confidential.