Acting on the duty of confidentiality

1. No personal information, given or received in confidence, may be passed to anyone else without the consent of the provider of the information. This is usually the patient but sometimes another person may be the source (e.g. relative or carer).
2. No personal information, given or received in confidence for one purpose, may be used for a different purpose without the consent of the provider of the information.
3. Patients are entitled to object to the use of their personal health data for purposes other than their immediate care.
4. The duty of confidentiality owed to a deceased patient should be viewed as being consistent with the rights of living individuals.
5. The rules of disclosure must be followed whenever information is passed to another person or organisation.