Policy 1.17 Confidentiality

All employees, volunteers, and other associates of FoundCare are required to keep client/patient information confidential as a condition of that association. When you begin employment or enter into association with FoundCare you will be asked to sign an Employee Confidentiality Statement. Subsequently, you will be asked to sign these documents again, at least on an annual basis. These declarations confirm your agreement not to divulge any confidential information concerning clients, patients, clients' significant others, administrative, personnel or volunteer records, donor information and some vendor information. An employee, or other covered associate, who improperly divulges confidential information may be terminated.

Information about clients/patients and significant others is held in strict confidence. All initial and subsequent interviews with a client/patient and significant other are conducted in a setting providing maximum privacy. All collected data, whether by direct interview, observation, review of documents or staff conferences, is held in strict confidence. Any use of identifiable health or psychosocial information other than client/patient and family care must be with the approval of the client/patient as evidenced by a signed release form. All employees are responsible for protecting client/patient and significant other information. A breach of confidentiality may be cause for dismissal.

No information about donors, contributors or volunteers is to be released without express written authorization from the persons involved, in addition to having the approval of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Vendor information and prices, likewise, are considered confidential.

Communication between FoundCare and the media requires the advance approval of the CEO to ensure client confidentiality and to relate accurate information. Please also refer to Interviews and Media Communications (sec 707).

While FoundCare is necessarily concerned with the privacy issues of its clients/patients, those concerns extend wherever possible to our staff as well. No personal information about an employee is released unless there is a signed authorization from the employee on file and the request is in writing. An exception is made for records and information we are required to provide by law. If there are occasions when you want FoundCare to release information, please notify the Human Resources Department. Some examples are verification of employment and salary information for a loan, mortgage, or reference.