Privacy at a counter.
WHY IT IS DIFFICULT
Pharmacies are public spaces and conversations are overheard.
WHAT PEOPLE DISCLOSE
Conditions, medicines and circumstances they would not share publicly.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH PHYSICALLY
A place where private conversations can occur.
WHY
Its absence means either no counselling, or counselling in public.
WHAT TO TRAIN
Lowering voices Not repeating product names aloud Not discussing customers between staff where others hear Moving sensitive conversations aside
WHAT TO NEVER DO
Discuss a customer's purchases with anyone else Confirm to a third party that someone is a customer Discuss customers on personal messaging
WHY THAT LAST POINT
It is the commonest breach and it spreads through communities quickly.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT RECORDS
Who may access them How they are stored That they are not visible to customers at the counter
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL WITH
Prescriptions left visible Labels printed and abandoned Screens facing the public
WHAT TO DO ABOUT REQUESTS FROM FAMILY MEMBERS
Establish authority before disclosing anything.
WHY
Assumptions about family entitlement are frequently wrong and sometimes dangerous.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
When collection by another person is acceptable, and what is said.
WHAT TO TELL STAFF
That confidentiality is a professional obligation, not a courtesy.
WHAT TO RECORD
Any breach, and what was done.
