Analysis of the ethical aspects of professional confidentiality in dental practice

Abstract

From the point of view of deontological ethics, privacy is a moral right that patients are entitled to and it is bound to professional confidentiality. Otherwise, the information given by patients to health professionals would not be reliable and a trustable relationship could not be established. The aim of the present study was to assess, by means of questionnaires with open and closed questions, the awareness and attitudes of 100 dentists working in the city of Andradina, São Paulo State, Brazil, with respect to professional confidentiality in dental practice. Most dentists (91.43%) reported to have instructed their assistants on professional confidentiality. However, 44.29% of the interviewees showed to act contradictorily as reported talking about the clinical cases of their patients to their friends or spouses. The great majority of professionals (98.57%) believed that it is important to have classes on Ethics and Bioethics during graduation and, when asked about their knowledge of the penalties imposed for breach of professional confidentiality, only 48.57% of them declared to be aware of it. Only 28.57% of the interviewees affirmed to have exclusive access to the files; 67.14% reported that that files were also accessed by their secretary; 1.43% answered that their spouses also had access, and 2.86% did not answer. From the results of the present survey, it could be observed that, although dentists affirmed to be aware of professional confidentiality, their attitudes did not adhere to ethical and legal requirements. This stand of health professionals has contributed to violate professional ethics and the law itself, bringing problems both to the professional and to the patient.

Adherence to confidentiality principles from the viewpoint of Iranian dental students: A multicenter study

“…Moreover, 67.0% of the subjects believed that patient information needs to remain confidential even after the patient dies. Garbin et al . reported 91.43% of Brazilian dentists to have educated their assistants about the principles of confidentiality.…”

“…over 86% of Nigerian dental students emphasised the necessity of educating dentists on respecting the dignity of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Other studies have also highlighted the need for courses on medical ethics . So knowledge of confidentiality principles about specific patients is felt in most of studies.…”

“…reported that 44.29% of dental assistants in Brazil discussed patient information with their friends and spouses. In fact, 45.71% adhered to the principles of confidentiality …”

“…Confidentiality in medical research has a long history dating back to the Hippocratic Oath . Health information privacy is also directly related to professional confidentiality . It is a major principle in patient‐physician relationships, which not only ensures the patients’ individual and social interests, but also reflects the physician's respect for his/her patients’ autonomy .…”

Bioética, principios y dilemas éticos en Odontología

“…Los odontólogos han llegado a experimentar problemas cuando los pacientes buscan inapropiados tratamientos, y cuando eligen o se ven limitados a aceptar, el tratamiento por compromiso. 20,21 La función que debemos cumplir no puede ser al margen de la ética, las decisiones que tomamos tienen un impacto directo en nuestra profesión, por ejemplo si tratamos de obtener beneficios financieros al corto plazo sin tomar en cuenta el aspecto ético en el largo plazo se producirá pérdida de confianza de parte del paciente hacia el odontólo-go. 20 La búsqueda de nuevos pacientes hace que los profesionales establezcan estrategias de publicidad, distribuyan boletines informativos por correo electrónico a granel, etc., orientado no sólo para retener a los pacientes actuales, sino también para animarles a referir a sus amigos y familias.…”