Confidentiality

Question 0

When can you breach patient confidentiality?

Answer 0

• Within healthcare teams
• When patient consents (for insurance and employment)
• In publics best interests (protect third party from death - sexual abuse, driving when not medically fit)
• In patients best interests
• When required by law
• Public body must be informed about abortions

Question 1

What is Confidentiality?

Answer 1

Principle which is an ethical requirement and is one of the cornerstones of trust that enables patients to open up to a doctor about their symptoms and problems

Important for 5 reasons:

1) Respect for patient autonomy
2) Implied Promise
3) Virtue Ethics: Is it virtuous behaviour to break confidentiality
4) Consequentialism: What are the consequences of breaching confidentiality
5) Human Rights - A persons right to privacy (Human rights act 1998)

Question 2

Privacy VS Confidentiality

Answer 2

Privacy

• About people
• Sense of being in control of access that others have to ourselves or to information about ourselves with others

Confidentiality

• About data
• Identifiable private information will not be divulged except in ways previously agreed on

Question 3

What is Professionalism?

Answer 3

• Embraces doctors personal responsibility for their competence and conduct and their collective responsibility for making sure that the medical profession delivers across the board as its expected to
• Unsurpassed in delivering high standards of performance, conduct and service because true professionals are motivated by conscience

Question 4

What is Fact Value Distinction?

Answer 4

Draws a distinction between arguments that are necessarily true (ie. can be proved by science) and arguments that are contingently true (may or may not be true but its validity must be agreed upon).