Violations of medical confidentiality: opinions of primary care physicians

Abstract

BackgroundPhysicians should be able to distinguish situations where they need to protect confidentiality from those where they could be obligated to reveal information. Data are scarce concerning physician's attitudes in daily situations where violations of confidentiality are avoidable. Physicians should be aware of situations where patients are identifiable. AimTo solicit participation of primary care physicians in a teaching intervention and to explore participants' opinions on violations of confidentiality. Design of studyA questionnaire presented seven vignettes describing avoidable violations of confidentiality (for example, without patient consent a physician mentions a politician's illness their spouse). Participants answered on a scale of 0−3 (0 = no violation and 3 = serious violation). All contacted physicians were invited to a teaching session during which the study results were discussed.

Confidentiality breaches in clinical practice: what happens in hospitals?

“…In most cases, we assume that the reasons for such breaches of confidentiality arise from a lack of knowledge about the legal and ethical repercussions of such actions, as well as carelessness in handling information. Our opinion is in line with studies such as that of Elger [ 12 ] who conducted surveys with groups of physicians. They found that although health professionals are often aware of the importance of confidentiality, a significant percentage does not how to avoid breaches of confidentiality in their daily practice.…”

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

“…Whilst our participants’ mean score of knowledge was 64.6%, medical students in Shiraz had low‐moderate levels of knowledge about the principles of medical confidentiality . Elger found that in comparison with internists and medical students, the members of the World Medical Association at Geneva (Switzerland) had greater knowledge about circumstances in which breach of confidentiality was allowed . This is due to different educational curricula taught in Iranian dental schools and must be recommended that the basic standards be taught in all schools.…”

Confidentiality in Primary Care: Ethical and Legal Considerations

“…It is not only Spanish doctors who may act in ignorance of or contrary to the legal framework regarding confidentiality. A study comparing the grading of vignettes describing breaches of confidentiality by Swiss primary care physicians and a sample of law professors from across Europe found that in all cases the physicians graded the seriousness of the breach of confidentiality lower than the law professors (Elger, 2009). In some cases, the physicians failed to recognize that a breach of confidentiality had occurred.…”