Data protection in nursing, so you are on the safe side

Since nursing is assigned to the medical field, medical confidentiality also applies here. Nevertheless, data protection law plays a major role.

Handling sensitive data of data subjects requires a high degree of attention.

In nursing home

In general, the most important points should already be included in the care contract. However, residents can decide for themselves what data they want to disclose and what happens to it. If, for example, pictures of the residents are posted in public areas, each of these persons must consent to this. Video surveillance should also be clearly marked. Visitors and residents should be informed of this. A notice at the entrances would therefore be ideal.

Since each resident also has a care file, this must always be kept well under lock and key. There is a great risk that unauthorized persons will gain access to diagnoses, the course of illnesses or other personal data. For this reason, these documents must be kept locked away at all times. A lockable filing cabinet in a separate room is a good choice in any case. If a patient file disappears, this can have serious consequences for the home itself and the staff responsible. Employees who lose data will also be put through the wringer. This also applies to the loss of duty cell phones, tour planners and other relevant documents.

The outpatient care

The requirements in outpatient care are identical to those in nursing homes.

Nursing staff are always subject to the duty of confidentiality. Even relatives of the person concerned may only receive information about various details of the care process and condition after the person's consent. If the caregiver or nurse changes, for example due to shifts, vacation, illness or change of nursing service, special care must be taken when passing on data. Sharing of information is inevitable. However, only patient information that is truly necessary and relevant to the care should be shared. Because a caregiver learns many details of the person's life over time, he or she should weigh well what to share with others. For many older people, the caregiver is also, in part, a good friend. And as it is in life, one tells one "friend" more and another less.