THE PATIENTS AND HEALTHCARE STAFF PERCEPTION ON THE PROTECTION OF PATIENTS DATA AND RIGHTS BY PROFESSIONAL SECRECY IN ROMANIA

S. Rosca, I. Silistraru, D. V. Timofte, D. B. Iliescu, F. Severin, A. I. Alexa, I. A. Ciureanu

Abstract: The core of the doctor-patient relationship is confidentiality and communication. A patient who cannot trust their doctor or nurse will not give the necessary information for good plan care and has a poor prognosis, is not compliant with treatment, and the results will not be good. This study aimed to analyse the perception of healthcare employee and patients perception of data protection and rights protection by professional secrecy. Material and methods. This study is a cross-sectional investigation. Data were collected using a questionnaire with three sections from December 2018 to January 2019. The data were analysed statistically. Results. 2069 respondents completed the survey (1238 healthcare employee – nurses and physicians – and 831 patients). The knowledge about the legislative provision on professional secrecy and data protection seems to be less known in the group of patients in a private hospital (mean score 1.84), but better known in teaching hospitals and public hospital (mean score 2.10 vs. 2.01). Then, the knowledge about the legal provision that protects professional secrecy is better known in all three groups of respondents and all three types of hospitals. Conclusions. Our study revealed a strong correlation between the level of education and the knowledge about data protection and patients rights protection. Healthcare employee should also be periodically informed about the protection of patients data and the protection of their rights.
Keywords: patients right, patients data protection, confidentiality, the patient-doctor relationship