Protecting Privacy While Providing Virtual Care
Samara Starkman, 2020
The adoption of virtual healthcare provision has been quickly accelerated by social and physical distancing measures. Clinicians are rightly concerned about how to provide appropriate care while protecting the privacy of patients. Here are some tips for ensuring that patient privacy is protected while providing healthcare:
When choosing a platform:
Ensure that the contracts you enter into with the virtual care platform cover the requirements of electronic services providers or information managers, depending on your jurisdiction
Make sure that the virtual care platform does not store any personal health information
Verify that the encryption standards meet those of your healthcare institution – at a minimum, these should be industry standard
Check with your association to whether they have recommended certain platforms
Before the session:
Each session should have a unique password and link
Patients/clients should be authenticated and identifies verified prior to providing care to ensure you are speaking with the appropriate patient
Provide an explanation to patients/clients about virtual care, outlining the privacy and security risks balanced with the benefits of receiving care in this manner
Get consent from the patient/client for using this mode of communication
Close all windows on your device, including email and text messages that may pop up during the session
Be prepared to document clinically relevant information in the patient/client’s medical record as you normally would
During the session:
Confirm with the patient/client an understanding of the risks/benefits of using virtual care
Do not record the session
Only the clinician and the patient/client should be present during the call
Make sure the call is done in a private space in your home or office where others cannot overhear or interrupt
Do not use a public internet connection (such as Wifi in an airport or coffee shop)
After the session:
Follow procedures that you would normally follow after an in-person session
Log out of the video conferencing platform and close the window in which it was operating
OMA Link to virtual care guidance: https://ontariomd.news/?utm_source=eLetter&utm_campaign=c0b076a19d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_01_04_52&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0f88455429-c0b076a19d-48456957