Lawmaker calls for higher awareness on patient privacy

The lawmaker representing the medical sector has called for greater awareness in protecting the privacy of patients at public hospitals. David Lam made the remark after a medical intern at Princess Margaret Hospital was suspended from duties for allegedly leaking patient information on social media. Lam on Sunday told RTHK that the incident showed some medical staff’s low awareness on patient privacy, which he described as “absolutely not satisfactory.” “This is something we learned from the very first day as a medical student,” he said. “Every medical staff has to take very seriously the patient's privacy and under all circumstances do not divulge it to another person unless it is medically necessary.” Lam added that the Hospital Authority has clear rules to protect patients’ privacy. “We have to stress the importance of such rules. And if things have happened like this, it will be very timely for the Hospital Authority to educate the staff again of the importance,” he said. “What has been done, which is like a disciplinary action on the affected staff, is a very clear message to all staff that any such kind of unwarranted disclosure on social media will not be tolerated. The message is clear and loud. I think we should also inform staff by ways of circular or internal education to reinforce the very concept of respecting patients' privacy.” The Hospital Authority said in a statement on Saturday that it has provided training on privacy protection. Medical students and interns are required to sign a confidentiality agreement before they are granted access to its clinical management system, it added. Edited by Edmond Fong