2.9. Outline the principles of confidentiality in relation to supporting individuals with autism.

Confidentiality is an important concept in health and social care and one which must be understood and followed.

It involves ensuring that personal information about an individual is only shared with others on a need-to-know basis to protect the individual’s privacy.

This includes:

• Requesting consent from the individual to share information about them with others
• Checking the credentials of individuals that request personal information about and individual before sharing it with them
• Ensuring that personal information is stored securely (e.g. in a locked filing cabinet or password-protected computer system)
• Ensuring that paperwork containing personal information about an individual is not left lying around where unauthorised people may gain access
• Not talking about an individual when you may be overheard by others

Further information about confidentiality in health and social care can be found here.