AlphaMED Resources · https://alphamedicine.uk/Resources/glossary/confidentiality
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is a doctor's duty to keep what a patient tells them private.
Summary
- Patients are only honest with their doctors if they trust that the information stays private.
- The duty continues after the patient has died.
- It has limits. A doctor may share information when the patient consents, when the law requires it, or when keeping it secret would put someone at serious risk of harm.
- Legal requirements include reporting certain infectious diseases and obeying a court order.
In practice
- In the Synnovis cyber attack, the Qilin gang reportedly posted what it claimed was 394.1 GB of stolen data on 20 June 2024.
- The Caldicott principles, the health service's rules for handling patient information, say the duty to share information for a patient's care is as important as the duty to protect confidentiality.
In Hong Kong
- The Medical Council of Hong Kong's code says a doctor should get the patient's consent before giving medical information to a third party outside the referral (section 1.4.1).
- It allows disclosure without consent in exceptional circumstances, such as to prevent serious harm to the patient or others, or where the law requires it (section 1.4.2).
- Where a spouse or partner is at risk from a patient's serious infection, the doctor should urgently seek the patient's consent. If it is refused, the doctor may consider it a duty to tell the partner (section 32.3).
Interview questions
- Why is confidentiality so important in medicine?
- When is a doctor allowed to break confidentiality?
- A patient with epilepsy tells you he is still driving. What do you do?
Sources
- Infosecurity Magazineinfosecurity-magazine.com/…/synnovis-publish-nhs-patient-data
- GOV.UKgov.uk/…/the-caldicott-principles
- Medical Council of Hong Kongmchk.org.hk/…/Code_of_Professional_Conduct_%28English_Version%29_%28Revise
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