Health professional-patient confidentiality: does the law really matter?

Confidentiality is often tested in the health professional-patient relationship, particularly given that both the law and ethics permit disclosure of confidential information in the public interest. This column outlines the results of an Australian Research Council project indicating that mental health professionals may place more weight on their ethical responsibilities relating to confidentiality than what the law requires. The outcomes of the project, which used both questionnaires and focus group discussions, suggests that there is some confusion as to legal requirements in this area and that many mental health professionals rely on ethical frameworks to justify disclosure even where there is no legal requirement to do so. It is suggested that ethics training for health professionals should be of primary importance to ensure responsible decision-making in this area.