Day to day guidelines to protect data security
Do
Ensure that all staff in a pharmacy keep all prescription forms away from locations where they can be seen by patients and customers.
Check before inviting a patient or customer into a consultation room that no other patient’s information is visible, whether on prescription forms, on monitored dosage system (MDS) trays or on computer screens.
Make sure all pharmacy staff know that data protection is important in order to maintain patients’ confidentiality.
Explain to all staff that a patient’s data can only be accessed for reasons connected with the patient’s care – and it should be accessed only on a need-to-know basis.
Don’t
Allow patient data to leave the premises without knowing exactly where it is going and that anyone allowed to remove it understands the importance of protecting confidentiality.
Call out patients’ addresses or ask them to give their addresses when other patients or customers could hear. If it is necessary to call out their names, ask them to confirm their addresses in a location where they cannot be overheard.