I’ve just started my New Grad programme, and the senior nurses have been pushing me off my computer to look up details about their patients. I’ve challenged them on this but have been told that it’s okay because they are only checking blood results. Is this true?

No. Health organisations are required to maintain the confidentiality of their patient records. You are also required to ensure that you are only accessing the records of patients who are under your care as a part of your registration requirements. Many organisations also have internal policies that mandate that staff are to only look at electronic health records while logged into the system with their own credentials, and to log out of the system when their computer is unattended.

You have been right to challenge your colleagues when they ask to access records while you have been logged into the system. Every action under your log in creates a electronic fingerprint that may show that you have accessed the records of a patient whom you are not providing direct care to. This has the potential to lead to a disciplinary matter for yourself if your organisation conducted an audit of your electronic medical record access, which they known to do periodically.

All nurses and midwives should make sure that they are familiar with their local policies concerning the use of electronic medical records. If your colleagues continue to try and use a computer you are logged into, you might want to consider educating them around their privacy obligations and; or speaking to your manager for support.