Registered Kinesiologists (R.Kins) often work in environments where their professional responsibilities intersect with their employer’s needs and interests. We invite R.Kins to consider the following scenario, which involves ethically balancing competing interests to maintain  and protect patient/client privacy.

Scenario

Gill, an R.Kin, works in an office setting providing a variety of services, including:

• general interest exercise classes,
• one-on-one exercise assessment and prescription,
• ergonomic assessments, and
• workplace injury prevention risk identification and management.

Gill’s employer is interested in collecting data related to workplace injury prevention. Specifically, they have asked Gill to provide reports that include details about which employees received workplace injury prevention advice and why the advice was sought.

This request raises important questions about privacy, confidentiality, and professional obligations.

Key considerations

As a registered kinesiologist, Gill must practice in accordance with

• COKO’s Standards of Practice
• Applicable privacy laws (the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), to name only two examples)
• COKO’s Code of Ethics

One question Gill should consider is:

Is the employer/client requesting personal information or personal health information that can only be disclosed with the employee’s consent?

Potential Action(s)

An appropriate response to this request may involve:

• Considering the request through the lens of the COKO’s Code of Ethics
• Review of COKO’s standards of practice and practice guidelines, particularly those related to privacy and confidentiality.
• Raising awareness of potential gaps between the employer’s request and Gill’s professional obligations as an R.Kin.
• Working with the employer to identify solutions issues that comply with COKO’s standards of practice and any other applicable laws or regulations.

Working together

R.Kins may occasionally encounter employer or client policies, procedures or requests that are not fully aligned with COKO’s standards and guidelines. Often, these situations can be resolved through open communication and collaboration.

By working together, R.Kins and their employers can help build workplace environments that both:

• Uphold professionalism, ethics, and standards of practice; and
• Support organizational goals

Maintaining this balance is a key part of responsible and effective professional practice.