Confidentiality

Underpinning the concept of medical confidentiality is the view that the information that a doctor learns about a patient in his professional capacity 'belongs' to the patient, and that the patient has the right to determine who has access to such information. A doctor's legal obligation of confidentiality is best seen as a public and not a private interest. It is for this reason that the obligation is not absolute. When a doctor breaches confidentiality, the question that the law asks is: 'Is the balance of public interests in favour of breaching confidentiality or of maintaining it?' Disclosure of personal information without consent may be justified when failure to do so may expose the patient, or others, to risk of death or serious harm. The issue of confidentiality in the context of child patients is complex and not legally clear.