COVID-19 Update 6COVID 19 Information Governance AdviceInformation governance is all about how to manage and share information appropriately. The health and social care system is going to face significant pressures due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In the current circumstances it could be more harmful not to share health and care information than to share it. The Information Commissioner has assured NHSX that she cannot envisage a situation where she would take action against a health and care professional clearly trying to deliver care. We will need to work in different ways from usual and the focus should be what information you share and who you share it with, rather than how you share it. This advice sets out some of the tools you can use to support individual care, share information and communicate with colleagues during this time. Mobile Messaging It is absolutely fine to use mobile messaging via Microsoft Teams to communicate with colleagues as needed. It is also fine to use applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram to communicate with patients/service users where there is no practical alternative and the benefits outweigh the risk. Where instant messaging is not required, email is still the preferred method of communication. If Teams does not load automatically on your Laptop/PC please visit https://teams.microsoft.com and logon using your Trust email address and the password you use to logon to your PC. It is then possible to download it. Video guides are currently in production and the Trust is currently arranging virtual MS Team training with an external provider. In the meantime, a Microsoft Teams Quick Reference Guide is available for download from the CAT Coronavirus Page The important thing, as always, is to consider what type of information you are sharing and with whom, and as much as possible limit the use of personal/confidential patient information. Videoconferencing We encourage the use of video conferencing to carry out consultations with patients and service users. This could help to reduce the spread of COVID-19. It is OK to use video conferencing tools such as Skype, WhatsApp, Facetime as well as commercial products designed specifically for this purpose. Please ensure that you have clinical processes in place to support the use of remote consultations and record consultation details as normal in clinical notes. The consent of the patient or service user is implied by them accepting the invite and entering the consultation. But you should safeguard personal / confidential patient information in the same way you would with any other consultation. Telephone and Video Consultations For colleagues in Mental Health and Learning Disability Services, the preferred option is Video Consultation in the first instance. Further guidance will be made available on CAT in due course. Phone consultations may be used for routine follow ups where it is not dependent on monitoring of mental state - e.g. medication. We have produced a SOP for "Using Video for Remote Consultations in North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust and patients’ homes", which you can download by clicking here. Working from home You may well need to work from home. In this case, you need to use your Trust allocated devices and connect in the normal way. In keeping with current guidance the transportation and storage of physical documents away from your base is discouraged, however, if there is no practical alternative ensure the security of these documents at your home and when travelling and return them to your place of work as soon as possible. Please be aware that commercial applications such as WhatsApp and Facetime are not supported by S&SHIS so they will not be able to support their configuration or use. Cyber Security Be aware that there is an increased risk of phishing and cyber-attacks which may attempt to exploit the vulnerability of the current situation. If you have any concerns / questions please email nscht.informationgovernance@combined.nhs.uk
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