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Confidentiality

Document Type: Practice Guideline
Last Updated: December 29, 2022
Approver: Executive

Overview

Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) have legal and ethical obligations to protect the privacy and confidentiality of patients’ information. Privacy applies to an individual person and their right to not share information about themselves with others and to make decisions about how their personal information is shared. Confidentiality applies to the information and refers to the ethical duty of healthcare professionals to safeguard the personal information about a person that they can access or that has been disclosed to them. A healthcare professional’s commitment to protecting a patient’s right to privacy must be balanced against the need to disclose health information. This document supports LPNs in navigating these obligations to patient privacy and maintain the confidentiality of patient information in their practice.