Maintaining patient confidentiality is the responsibility of every caregiver. But it requires extra precaution whenever you’re in a position to relay confidential details about a patient’s condition by telephone. If a family member seeks information in this manner, there are two steps to take before you provide it:

1. Determine—and document— that the patient has given permission for you to discuss his case with this person. If the patient is unable to do that, check if the patient has a healthcare proxy or other agent under state law. If he does not, ask the family to appoint one relative with whom the healthcare team can communicate.

2. Confirm the identity of the person on the phone, which can be done by using a system agreed upon by all parties: Set a specific time for the family member to call, use a secret code or password, or place the call yourself. Before you end the conversation, verify that the caller understands the information conveyed.

Communicating with or leaving messages for a doctor by phone is less complicated, but here, too, caution is required. At times, the only way to get a physician to return your call is to give confidential clinical information to an answering service’s telephone operator. It is reasonable to leave such details with a physician designee provided it’s done strictly on a need-to know basis.

A final step, no matter whom you’re talking to: Document the conversation, the name of the person you spoke with, and the precise time of the call. It could be crucial in the event of a lawsuit.