Patient confidentiality: when can a breach be justified?

Blightman, K MBChB FRCA GDL DFMS LLM
Griffiths, S E BSc MBBS FRCA LLM
Danbury, C MPhil FRCP FRCA FFICM

¹Specialist Registrar, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Brockley Hill, Stanmore, Middlesex, HA7 4LP, UK
²Specialist Registrar, Royal Marsden Hospital, Fulham Rd, London, SW3 6JJ, UK
³Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care and Visiting Fellow in Health Law, Intensive Care Unit, Royal Berkshire Hospital, London Road, Reading, RG15AN, UK

⁴Tel: +44 1183 228840 E-mail: [email protected] (for correspondence)

Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain 14(2):p 52-56, April 2014. | DOI: 10.1093/bjaceaccp/mkt032

Key points

Confidentiality is central to the preservation of trust between doctors and their patients.

Patient confidentiality is not absolute.

Legitimate exceptions are disclosures with patient consent, when required by law and where there is a public interest.

When breaching patient confidentiality and patient consent cannot be obtained, seek advice from senior colleagues or a medical defence union and document your reasons clearly.