What do we help with?
This relates to individual membership where our protection applies when a member breaches confidentiality as part of their clinical work.
Members can request assistance where a claim or a complaint is made that relates to a breach or alleged breach of confidentiality that is directly in relation to clinical practice. An example of this might be where data or information provided in confidence to the member by a patient/client has been accidentally shared with a third party, because of individual error and without any commercial gain.
Examples of situations we would assist include:
- A complaint as a result of a breach. We could help you draft a response to a complaint letter for example.
- A complaint to your professional regulator, such as the Medical or Dental Council.
- If a patient wants to sue you, we would assist for damages.
Outside scope of membership
There are other risks associated with data, such as cyber-attacks, breach of data protection law, complaints to a data regulator, etc. These are business risks, rather than being associated with clinical practice, and would fall outside of the scope of membership.
In these situations, we are not able to provide members with any advice in relation to data protection matters, and members should direct queries to their public liability insurers or relevant information commissioner in the first instance. You should ensure you are fully up to date with the cover provided by their Public Liability insurance or Cyber Insurance.
Benefits of discretion
MPS is a discretionary organisation, which means we may, where appropriate, use discretion to assist in exceptional circumstances – provided it’s not considered detrimental to the wider membership.
For a clearer understanding of the scope and limitations of your membership, please see your guide to member benefits in Ireland and our page on understanding your membership.