Patient confidentiality and police inspection of private
prescription records
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Code of Ethics
states that the public expects pharmacists and their staff to respect
and protect confidentiality. This duty extends to any information relating
to an individual which pharmacists or their staff acquire in the course
of their professional activities. Confidential information includes personal
details and medication, both prescribed and non-prescribed.
Pharmacists must ensure that information is disclosed
without the patient's consent only in certain circumstances. These include:
- Where disclosure of the information is to a person
or body empowered by statute to require such a disclosure
- To a police officer or National Health Service
fraud investigating officer who provides written confirmation that disclosure
is necessary to assist in the prevention, detection or prosecution of
serious crime
- Where necessary to prevent serious injury or
damage to the health of the patient or a third party or to public health.
The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 require "retail
dealers" (ie, community pharmacies) to produce the Controlled Drug register
and any private or NHS prescriptions for Controlled Drugs to a person
authorised by the Secretary of State who wishes to examine such records.
Therefore the first of the three provisions above would apply. Pharmacists
may disclose the details in the register, but not details from the patient
medication record unless one of the other provisions applies.
The Regulations state that the retail dealer has
to "produce any register, book or document required to be kept under these
Regulations [the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001] relating to any dealings
in Controlled Drugs which are in his possession". Therefore the chemist
inspection officer or other police officer is not authorised to inspect
private prescription records or PMRs as a matter of routine.
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