[Medical Confidentiality in Elite Sports]

A doctor-patient relationship is basically characterised by medical confidentiality, which means that doctors have to remain silent about any information coming to their attention in the respective context. A breach of medical confidentiality constitutes an act of misconduct relevant in terms of criminal and professional law. If a doctor has the permission or obligation to disclose confidential information, a breach of medical confidentiality is not illegitimate. A permission to disclose confidential information is given if a patient releases a doctor from his or her medical confidentiality obligation either explicitly or through coherent action. Doctors who provide concurrent or successive treatment of a patient are also released from their obligation to keep medical confidentiality towards their attending colleagues. Furthermore, doctors are allowed to disclose confidential information if disclosure is of superior interest. Those specific constellations are narrowly defined by law. Moreover, a permission to disclose confidential information can be the result of a legal provision. Obligations of disclosure are limited to cases regulated by law. Medical confidentiality also applies to the treatment of athletes without any restrictions. However, there are particular constellations in elite sports where doctors either have a permission to disclose confidential information or may assume that athletes agree with the transfer of their diagnostic findings to certain third parties.