Why is this such an issue? Surely, many argue, human nature is to blame. Some people can not resist the urge to gossip and leak information that is not theirs to share. Others do so for perceived "noble" reasons, arguing that they rescinded a patient's rights to confidentiality for ethical reasons, saying that the people were putting others at risk. Yet if this is the argument of the doctors, then when can the patients feel secure? Breaches in patient confidentiality are often the reason why patients will refuse to undergo necessary treatment.
Because this is a legal issue as much as a medical issue, many of the problems of this issue actually originate from the system itself. For example, every single state has its own patient confidentiality laws. This becomes an issue when crossing borders, and largely deinstitutionalizes the whole concept of privacy. What is legal to say and what is not becomes faded, and much of what is spoken instead depends on the doctor's own ethical viewpoint on the whole matter, not necessarily law.
For example, in a survey, 53.2% of doctors would break patient confidentiality if they believed it would harm others. Another 20.2% of doctors reported that they would not. Finally, 26.6% of the doctoral community were not sure. This is a huge problem, as over a fourth of doctors are not sure what to do in such a situation. There are no clearly defined laws or rules that doctors must follow, and allowing doctors to make their own ethical decision often produces radically different results.
Because this is a legal issue as much as a medical issue, many of the problems of this issue actually originate from the system itself. For example, every single state has its own patient confidentiality laws. This becomes an issue when crossing borders, and largely deinstitutionalizes the whole concept of privacy. What is legal to say and what is not becomes faded, and much of what is spoken instead depends on the doctor's own ethical viewpoint on the whole matter, not necessarily law.
For example, in a survey, 53.2% of doctors would break patient confidentiality if they believed it would harm others. Another 20.2% of doctors reported that they would not. Finally, 26.6% of the doctoral community were not sure. This is a huge problem, as over a fourth of doctors are not sure what to do in such a situation. There are no clearly defined laws or rules that doctors must follow, and allowing doctors to make their own ethical decision often produces radically different results.