When you visit a psychiatrist is Singapore, you can rely on your privacy being preserved and maintained. There are just five exceptions to the doctor-patient confidentiality commitment . Read through these exceptions and discover how safe your private information really is.
Continued Treatment
If you switch doctors or psychiatrists, your current psychiatrist is allowed to give your confidential information to the succeeding care provider. If you’re in the hospital and your doctors there need your information in order to know how to treat you, your psychiatrist may release your information to those doctors directly involved in your care.
Court Order
Sometimes, information about a person’s mental health can be vital to enlighten legal proceedings. A court can order a psychiatrist or psychologist to release your information if it may be pertinent to a case. The case may then be analyzed by a forensic psychiatrist.
Compliance with the Law
There are laws in place known as “mandatory reporting statues.” These laws are there for the protection of the weak or the helpless, and they place responsibility on leaders, caregivers, and clinicians to report instances of harmful behavior. For example, if a psychiatrist in Singapore discovered that his patient was abusing a child, the psychiatrist would be required to reveal that information to the authorities in compliance with the mandatory reporting laws.
Communication of a Threat
Along the same line as the legal compliance, a psychiatrist or psychologist in Singapore must communicate with authorities if he becomes aware of any threats to others. If the clinician suspects that his patient may intend harm, violence, or death to someone, the psychiatrist must report that information to the police.
Consent
Sometimes, the patient may agree to allow his or her psychiatrist in Singapore to release certain private details. This disclosure requires an official document signed by the patient, permitting the revelation or communication of the information. With that informed consent on file, the clinician is allowed to release the confidential information.
The 4 Questions
Before revealing confidential information, your psychiatrist would ask four questions:
- Do I have a duty to maintain the confidentiality in this situation?
- Is there an exception in this case (one of the five C’s)?
- Is there someone I should ask for help or advice first?
- Do I know the laws of jurisdiction and the policies of my group or organization?
The 5 C’s are general guidelines, and each psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinician must take into account all pertinent factors before acting in any situation.
Trusting Your Psychiatrist
Your information is well-guarded with Adelphi Psych Medicine Clinic, a well-trusted psychiatry and psychotherapy clinic in Singapore. When you come to us, you can rest assured that your confidentiality will be carefully maintained in all but the most extreme scenarios. In our secure facility, you can focus on recovering your mental health without fear of your privacy being violated. Contact us now if you have any issues you think we can help with, and you can rest assured your information will be kept private and confidential.
Your psychiatrist will guard your personal affairs, keep your secrets, and look out for your best interests to the best of his or her ability throughout the course of your treatment.
Source
Merideth P. The Five C’s of Confidentiality and How to DEAL with Them. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2007;4(2):28-29.
