confidentiality?

Published Sep 24, 2008

55 Posts

Question: RN answer psych unit's desk phone. Caller said he is a patient's spouse and want to know pt's condition. What is the most appropriate response?

I picked " I can't confirm or deny any pt's presence in this hospital." However the rationale for this being wrong is " confidentiality prohibit professional from discussing info about the pt." Rationale makes no sense at all.

The correct answer was "Pts not allow to use this phone. You have to call the pt's number directly." Rationale was "psych pt retain civil right to communicate with outside world and have access to phones."

Would some one like to englighten me? This is from Kaplan trainer by the way.