Part 6 of our Clinical Continuity Plan series: sharing information with a clinical agent.
This video addresses what information can be shared with a clinical agent. The focus is on having enough information for the agent to act safely, while avoiding unnecessary sharing of confidential or sensitive client information before it is needed.
One of the biggest concerns therapists have about continuity planning is confidentiality.
If you appoint someone to act if you are suddenly unable to manage your practice, how much information should they have?
The simple answer is:
Share only the information necessary for their agreed role, in line with applicable confidentiality and data-protection requirements.
A Clinical Continuity Plan should help make the process clear without giving someone unnecessary access to confidential client information.
Does my clinical agent need access to my client records now?
Not simply because they have been named in your continuity arrangements.
Instead, your plan should clearly document practical information such as:
- where your clinical records are stored
- which practice systems you use
- where your continuity instructions are kept
- who may need to be contacted
- what should happen if your plan needs to be activated
The aim is to make sure the right information can be accessed appropriately if it is ever needed.
It is not about giving someone unrestricted access to your practice in advance.
Your clinical agent and client confidentiality
Your Clinical Continuity Plan should explain how you will protect confidentiality and personal information.
That means thinking carefully about:
- who may need access to information
- when access may be required
- what information is actually necessary
- how information and access details are stored securely
- what responsibilities the person acting will have
Clinical records often contain highly sensitive personal information, so access should never be broader than necessary.
Your plan should reflect your actual practice
There is no single continuity arrangement that works for every therapist.
The right setup will depend on things such as:
- how your practice is legally structured
- where your records are stored
- what software and systems you use
- who already has access to those systems
- who has been appointed to carry out different parts of your continuity plan
- what contractual and legal arrangements are already in place
This is why a Clinical Continuity Plan needs to be specific to the individual practice rather than simply naming someone and leaving them to work things out later.
The two extremes to avoid
There are two common problems.
Giving too much access
Someone is given broad access to systems and confidential information even though they do not currently need it.
Not planning access at all
Someone is named in a continuity plan but there are no clear arrangements explaining where important information is held or what they should do if the plan is activated.
The aim is to have a clear, secure and proportionate process in place.
For BACP members
The BACP Ethical Framework 2026 requires members to have a clinical will and appoint an executor, bound by confidentiality, who can communicate with clients and service users if the practitioner cannot contact them or dies.
But having a name written in a document is only part of the planning.
It is also worth considering whether your arrangements are practical:
Would the person you have appointed know what to do and where to find the information they need?
Read our BACP clinical will guidance.
Keep it practical
You do not need to give your clinical agent access to everything now.
You do need a clear plan for what should happen if your continuity arrangements ever need to be activated.
At Psych VA, we help therapists put the practical side of that planning in place, including documenting systems, responsibilities and processes.
Where legal or data-protection questions arise, these should be addressed through the appropriate contracts, privacy documentation and professional legal advice.
A good Clinical Continuity Plan should make things clearer, not create more risk.
