Medical confidentiality is a concept of
doctors maintaining the secrecy of all the information received by a patient
during treatment.
Patients on a daily basis, share sensitive and
secret personal information to health care provider such as doctors, physicians
etc. Therefore, it is the topmost priority of health care provider to maintain
privacy and confidentiality.
The medical information given to the health care
provider shall not be divulged to others unless the patient provides his or her
consent to do so or required by the law.
Though it is very rare to keep the medical
information of a patient completely undisclosed as a very breach of
confidentiality occurs when the medical records are passed by the doctors to
others and refer it as one of their case studies. If the information is
published publicly, the identity of the patient is never disclosed, and if it
appears in any way, then the patient has the right to sue.
Laws
governing the Confidentiality of Medical Information
According to the Indian Medical Council
(Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, it has been
stated in chapter 2 (2.2) that Patience and delicacy should characterize
the physician. Confidences concerning individual or domestic life entrusted by
patients to a physician and defects in the disposition or character of patients
observed during medical attendance should never be revealed unless their
revelation is required by the laws of the State. Sometimes, however, a
physician must determine whether his duty to society requires him to employ
knowledge, obtained through confidence as a physician, to protect a healthy
person against a communicable disease to which he is about to be exposed. In
such an instance, the physician should act as he would wish another to act
toward one of his own family in like circumstances.
Furthermore, Chapter 7 (7.14) state that The
registered medical practitioner shall not disclose the secrets of a patient
that have been learned in the exercise of his / her profession except –
i) in a court of law under orders of the
Presiding Judge;
ii) in circumstances where there is a serious
and identified risk to a specific person and / or community; and
iii) notifiable diseases.
Chapter 8 gives the provision for the consequences
of the violation. Regulation 8.2 explains that if any complaint is made
concerning professional misconduct can be brought before the appropriate
Medical Council for Disciplinary action. Upon receipt of any complaint of
professional misconduct, the appropriate Medical Council would hold an inquiry
and give the opportunity to the registered medical practitioner to be heard in
person or by a pleader. If the medical practitioner is found to be guilty of
committing professional misconduct, the appropriate Medical Council may award
such punishment as deemed necessary or may direct the removal altogether or for
a specified period, from the register of the name of the delinquent registered practitioner.
Deletion from the Register shall be widely publicized in the local press as
well as in the publications of different Medical Associations/
Societies/Bodies.
And under chapter 8- (8.5), if the decision is
pending on the complaint registered against him, then the appropriate Council
may restrict the physician from performing the procedure or practice which is
under research/scrutiny.