1. Clara is a dental hygienist for a busy dental practice. On Monday, she goes out for dinner with her friend and shares a made-up story about her male boss harassing her at work. On Tuesday, a client’s wife calls Clara and asks for information about the nature of her husband’s recent appointments. Since it is the patient’s spouse, Clara reveals this information. On Wednesday, she faxes some patient information requested by Workers’ Compensation that is related to a recent claim made by the patient. Finally, on Thursday, she performs a dental procedure on a 10-year-old patient, but not before getting him to sign a consent form.
The patient who filed a Workers’ Compensation claim threatens to take the hygienist to court for revealing confidential information without consent. If this happens, the BEST defense for the hygienist to use is