Confidentiality
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has a legal and ethical responsibility to safeguard the privacy of all patients and protect the confidentiality of their protected health information (PHI).
Protected Health Information includes medical records relating to a patient's past, present and future care and treatment as well as billing records related to that care which contains any of the following identifiers:
- Names
- Geographic subdivisions smaller than a state
- Telephone / fax numbers
- E-mail addresses
- Social Security Numbers
- Medical record numbers
- Health plan beneficiary numbers
- Account numbers
- All elements of dates related to an individual
- Certificate / license numbers
- Vehicle identifiers / serial numbers
- Device identifiers / serial numbers
- URL's
- Internet protocol address number
- Finger / voice prints
- Full face photo image
- Any other unique identifying number, characteristic or code
During the course of their job shadow experiences, students may see, overhear, access or temporarily possess a patient's protected health information.
All protected health information must be maintained in the strictest confidence. As a condition of participation in the Job Shadow Program at Cincinnati Children's, all students must sign an Observer Confidentiality Agreement on the morning of their scheduled shadowing experience. Any violation of this agreement many result in civil and / or criminal penalties under federal and state law.
