Confidentiality of data relating to individual patients and visitors to a medical/health Web site, including your identity, is respected by this Web site. The Web site owners undertake to honour or exceed the legal requirements of medical/health information privacy that apply in France.
Code of confidentiality
Client disclosures
Volunteers undertake to treat information about clients as private and confidential. This undertaking continues after the volunteer and/or client ends their relationship with the Cancer Support organisation, for whatever reason.
Clients need to understand that some information may be made available to other members of the Cancer Support team in some circumstances. This may happen:
- when the volunteer needs to consult a fellow team member for information on how best to support the client;
when a volunteer needs support for him/herself from a fellow team member relating to their volunteer work in the organisation. - Exceptional circumstances may make it necessary to disclose information to a third party:
- wherever possible after discussion with, and with the prior consent of the client. Disclosure of information would only be made:
- if required by law or a court order;
- if justified in the wider public interest, for example to protect the client or others from the risk of significant harm;
- if a client made a formal complaint against a volunteer or the organisation, in response to such a complaint.
Any information given would be restricted to the minimum necessary in any of these situations, and disclosed only to someone with a legitimate need to know it.
Volunteers will take responsibility for explaining the confidentiality policy to each client during their first contact/visit; explaining to the client that the organisation cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any information shared by email, because the nature of the internet means this is beyond the organisation’s control.
Confidentiality of written information
Whether personal information on both clients and volunteers is kept in a branch office or elsewhere, it needs to be kept secure. Paper information needs to be stored in a locked facility, accessible only to those entitled to see it. For information stored on computers, associations like ours are exempt from registering under the French equivalent of Data Protection legislation.
Where personal information is held on the computer we are required to inform clients of this. They are entitled to view the information, and to correct or delete if they so desire.
The organisation and its members cannot be held responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of information which is already in the public domain.
Policy agreed by the Conseil d’Administration on 19th February 2016
President : Sue Ware