Article Text
Abstract
Confidentiality is both a fundamental principle of medical ethics and a legal obligation.
In exceptional situations not covered by legal provisions, doctors may want to waive confidentiality against the wishes of the patient. Swiss law calls for an authority to rule on such cases. In the Canton of Geneva this authority is the Commission for Professional Confidentiality. This paper concerns 41 cases managed by this commission.
The study shows that the majority of these requests to the Commission concern the reporting of patients who are not incompetent but need the protection of a legal guardianship. In rare cases, there is another interest higher than confidentiality: public order or functioning of justice. The Commission found that the measure requested was justified in the majority of cases brought before it.
This study focuses on exceptional cases but it throws into relief the conflict between the principle of autonomy on the one hand and the need for patient protection and social justice on the other.
- Confidentiality/Privacy
- Autonomy
- Law
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Linked Articles
- The concise argument
Read the full text or download the PDF:
Other content recommended for you
- Family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: who should decide?
- Dignifying death and the morality of elective ventilation
- A plea for end-of-life discussions with patients suffering from Huntington's disease: the role of the physician
- Should cancer patients be informed about their diagnosis and prognosis? Future doctors and lawyers differ
- Informed consent in neurosurgery—translating ethical theory into action
- Factors influencing attitudes towards medical confidentiality among Swiss physicians
- Confidentiality and the ethics of medical ethics
- Disclosure of non-recent (historic) childhood sexual abuse: What should researchers do?
- Medical and bioethical considerations in elective cochlear implant array removal
- Withholding and withdrawing life support in critical care settings: ethical issues concerning consent