When it comes to running an urgent care business, as with any other medical entity, doctor-patient confidentiality is of the utmost importance. Reputation is everything, and if you were to break the confidentiality contract you would put yourself, and your franchise, in an incredibly bad position. We take this very seriously – something our franchisees appreciate and our patients expect.

What Exactly Is Doctor-Patient Confidentiality for an Urgent Care Business?

According to Duhaime’s Law Dictionary, doctor/patient confidentiality is defined as “a proposed prohibition in regards to the disclosure within legal proceedings of communications or records produced privately between a medical doctor and her/his patient, on the expectation of privilege.”

Simply put, doctor-patient confidentiality means that what is said in the privacy of an office or examination room between a medical professional and their patients is to remain between them. Breaking that trust is not only unethical but could put you, and your urgent care business, in a messy legal situation. If your business is known as one that does not keep information private it will be hard to regain the trust of the people in your community.

What Are the Penalties for Breaking Confidentiality?

The penalties for breaking doctor-patient confidentiality, or other HIPPA violations, can range from bad to career-ending. The American Medical Association goes in-depth as to what constitutes a violation and what the penalties can be. Fines for such violations range, depending on the severity of the violation, from $100 per violation all the way up to $50,000 a violation. Criminally, the penalties can be as harsh as up to 10 years in prison.

Don’t put your urgent care business, and your medical career, on the line by breaking doctor-patient confidentiality. There is no upside to doing it.

How to Maintain Your Name in a Positive Way

Knowing how important doctor-patient confidentiality is can allow you to figure out what you must do to keep your urgent care business from breaking the trust of your community. One of the best ways to maintain a positive name in and around town is by consistently providing top-quality care to anyone that walks through the door.

American Family Care provides an abundance of services from physicals and checkups to more specific things like x-rays and work-related examinations. By providing the type of care that regular people need every day at your urgent care business you can begin building relationships in the community that will serve you well going forward. By working to ingratiate your urgent care business into the community, you can help build the familiarity that breeds trust. By working to nurture that, rather than hurt it by breaking doctor-patient confidentiality, you could set yourself up for a bright future.

To learn more about how to start an urgent care business with American Family Care reach out to us today.