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Asked by Maariya on 16 Mar 2022.
Question: Have you ever encountered a patient who didn't wish to disclose important information? If so, how did you manage the situation?
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Sarah Cousins answered on 16 Mar 2022:
Yes, and patients can completely choose what they want to tell us. However I would tend to approach it by saying something like ‘it would really help me to know how to find out what is wrong with you and how to treat you if you were able to give me any information about x’.
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Samantha Garside answered on 16 Mar 2022:
Yes, we have to respect the patients choice, we’re there to help, advice and provide the care and support however they may need it
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Heather S answered on 16 Mar 2022:
good question!! as Samantha and Sarah have said, we can only really go on what people tell us. but as they also say, we can explain why we need to know that info, maybe a bit more clearly or in a different way; we can reassure them it will remain confidential (unless there is a safeguarding issue); and we can also help them access any further support they might need in that info they did not wish to disclose – so even if we don’t know specifics we can point them towards others who they may feel comfortable in talking to….
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Jamie Hynes answered on 16 Mar 2022: last edited 16 Mar 2022 6:02 pm
You’re raising an issue called confidentiality Maariya. It’s a vitally important part of medicine and an essential aspect of the high levels of trust patients place in healthcare professionals. There are probably very good reasons behind why the patient would want to disclose the information and sense of exploration of this will hopefully allow that patient to build a level of confidence and trust in order to confide. Sadly there are many issues in society to contribute to the reasons why a patient may be reluctant to disclose information. Confidentiality is important but may be broken in certain circumstances where the degree of risk dictates.
Ultimately the welfare of the patient is the primary concern. -
Danielle Siberry answered on 19 Mar 2022:
I explain why it’s important to know certain things in order to be able to help them and keep them safe.
Ultimately its up to the patient what they choose to tell me. If I think there’s a risk of domestic violence etc I would say there are some services out here which could help you when your ready to talk about it. Give them some information. Or direct them to where they could look for help in the future.
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Aaliya commented on :
Yes – I would explain why the information was important and how it could help me to help them. Patients don’t have to tell us information if they don’t want to. It’s important to make patients comfortable to trust us with personal information. We have a code of confidentiality so we won’t share the information without the patients permission unless there is an important reason. Even in those cases, I would ask for permission first.
Sarah commented on :
At the very start of my career I worked with parents and children directly and it often took a long time to get them to share all the important information you needed. It’s important to understand why this is. People might be scared you will think worse of them or blame them – imagine you had been hurt doing something your parents just told you not to do, for example, and were scared they would be angry with you. So you need to make it clear you are not there to judge or blame, and that you won’t be angry or disapointed, and you need to be able to establish trust. Or you might find that people don’t understand why the information is important at all. People often don’t want to tell a GP Receptionist what is wrong because they don’t understand why the receptionist needs to know (which is often so they can get you help faster and by the best available member of the team). Or someone might not mention that they are tired all the time because they are embarrassed AND because they don’t connect that with the problem they came to the doctor with. So they need information and good explanations about why the information is important. People are very rarely being obstructive because they want to be – it’s usually fear, shame, or just not understanding why you are asking them the question.