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Confidentiality and the law

T McConnell1

  • 1Department of Philosophy, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Journal of Medical Ethics
|March 1, 1994
PubMed
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Medical ethics codes often allow breaching patient confidentiality when legally required. This paper argues that this common exception is not ethically justifiable, challenging standard medical practice. Keywords: patient confidentiality, medical ethics, legal exceptions.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Ethics
  • Health Law
  • Patient Rights

Background:

  • Professional medical ethics codes emphasize patient-practitioner confidentiality.
  • However, these codes rarely present confidentiality as absolute, often including exceptions.
  • A prevalent exception permits breaching confidentiality when legally mandated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically examine the ethical justifications for legally mandated breaches of patient confidentiality.
  • To argue against the legitimacy of this common exception within medical ethics.

Main Methods:

  • Critical analysis of ethical arguments supporting the legal exception to confidentiality.
  • Review of professional codes of medical ethics and relevant legal principles.
Keywords:
Analytical ApproachLegal ApproachProfessional Patient Relationship

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Main Results:

  • The paper identifies and discusses common rationales for the legal exception.
  • It finds these justifications insufficient to override the fundamental duty of patient confidentiality.

Conclusions:

  • The exception allowing legally mandated breaches of patient confidentiality is not ethically sound.
  • Upholding patient confidentiality should take precedence over this perceived legal obligation in medical ethics.