Privacy and Confidentiality
ANA Position Statement
Effective Date: June 2015
Status: Revised Position Statement
Written By: ANA Center for Ethics and Human Rights
Adopted By: ANA Board of Directors
PURPOSE
Ongoing advances in technology, including computerized medical databases, telehealth, social media and other Internet-based technologies, have increased the likelihood of potential and unintentional breaches of private/confidential health information. The purpose of this position statement is to speak to the role of nurses in protecting privacy and confidentiality and provide recommendations to avoid a breach.
STATEMENT OF ANA POSITION
The American Nurses Association (ANA) believes that protection of privacy and confidentiality is essential to maintaining the trusting relationship between health care providers and patients and integral to professional practice (ANA, 2015a). ANA supports legislation, policies and standards that protect individually identifiable health information.