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Summary
This article examines the circumstances in which dilemmas might arise between the need to maintain a patient's confidentiality and the need to disclose information. The author explains that nurses should be familiar with their professional code of conduct end keep up to date with any changes in the law to understand when it might be justified to override the duty of confidentiality.
Keywords
Confidentiality; Data protection; Ethics; Law; Patients' fights
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CONFIDENTIALITY in health care is a legal obligation that LS deriveJ from statutory and case law as well as forming part of the duty of care to a patient. It is a requirement within professional codes of conduct and it must he included in NHS employment contracts as a specific issue linked to disciplinary procedures.
A duty of confidence arises when one person discloses information to another in circumstances where it is reasonable to expect that the information will be held in confidence, for example, a patient disclosing information to a clinician (Department of Health 2003).
Confidentiality is crucial to everyone in health care. It is important that patients trust healthcare practitioners and are not dererred from seeking treatment for fear that their personal information may be disclosed without authorisation or consent. The NMC advises that 'to trust another person with private and personal information is a significant matter. The patient/client has a right to believe that information given to a registrant in confidence is only used for the purposes for which it was given and will nor be disclosed to others without permission' (NMC 2006). However, sometimes there is an apparent conflict, not only in terms of the law covering confidentiality in health care, but also where there is un ethical dilemma between maintaining a patient's confidentiality and disclosing information Jn certain circumstances, examples of which are outlined below.
Clear provisions on disclosure of information are set out in some acts of parliament such as the Human Fertilisation and l-'mhryology Act I 990, the...