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Balancing Confidentiality With Appropriate Disclosure

David J. Robinson, MRCPI; Desmond O’Neill, MD, FRCPI

JAMA. 2007;297:634-636.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The concept of confidentiality in the patient-physician relationship has existed for millennia and is enshrined in both ancient and modern¹ codes of ethics. Although most ethical codes stipulate that the duty to maintain confidentiality extends beyond death, there is rarely any such provision in statutory law. This may lead to uncertainty about how to treat information given in confidence to health professionals during life when access to that information is requested after death. Confidentiality is never an absolute and is usually qualified by the need to protect society or third parties. Confidentiality may be assumed to be good in itself or defended on grounds of autonomy or utilitarianism—if patients cannot trust their physicians, the relationship becomes unworkable.

As society changes and technology evolves, the situation after death becomes more complex, with jurists and ethicists proposing a variety of positions. One extreme of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Author Affiliations: Department of Medical Gerontology, Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.

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