Introduction
Medical confidentiality is the duty of physicians and other health professionals to keep private the information they learn about patients during care, and to disclose it only with a valid justification. This topic covers the rationale for confidentiality, the information it protects, the recognised exceptions, a practical approach to disclosure decisions, special situations, and the consequences of breaches.
Definition and rationale
Confidentiality is the obligation not to reveal identifiable health information to others without the patient's agreement or a recognised legal or ethical reason. It is one of the oldest professional duties in medicine, present in the Hippocratic tradition and in modern codes such as the World Medical Association's Declaration of Geneva. Its justification has several strands:
- Trust: patients disclose sensitive facts only when they expect privacy. Without this trust they withhold symptoms, sexual history or substance use, and care suffers.
- Respect for autonomy and dignity: information about a person's body and life belongs to that person.
- Protection from harm: disclosure can lead to stigma, discrimination, loss of employment or insurance, and social exclusion.