PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kate Scott
AU  - Jane V Dyas
AU  - Jo B Middlemass
AU  - A Niroshan Siriwardena
TI  - Confidentiality in the waiting room: an observational study in general practice
DP  - 2007 Jun 01
TA  - British Journal of General Practice
PG  - 490--493
VI  - 57
IP  - 539
4099  - http://bjgp.org/content/57/539/490.short
4100  - http://bjgp.org/content/57/539/490.full
SO  - Br J Gen Pract2007 Jun 01; 57
AB  - An ethnographic study using overt non-participatory observation was used to investigate confidentiality breaches in 13 GP practice reception and/or waiting areas in Lincolnshire. Staff and patient behaviours were observed for 2 hours. Aspects of management systems and physical environment were also thematically analysed. Forty-four instances occurred where patient-identifiable information was overheard. Of these instances, 22 were initiated by staff, 22 by patients, 33 face-to-face, and 10 from telephone conversations. Breaches included name and address, symptoms, conditions, or test results. Interaction between systems and physical environment in relation to ‘attention focus’, ‘sound’ and ‘layout’, increased the likelihood of breach of confidentiality. Further research on the patient perspective is recommended.