[DOWNLOAD] "Indiscretion and Other Threats to Confidentiality (Report)" by South African Journal of Bioethics and Law # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Indiscretion and Other Threats to Confidentiality (Report)
- Author : South African Journal of Bioethics and Law
- Release Date : January 01, 2010
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 253 KB
Description
It is ironic that the greatest threats to medical confidentiality are those that elicit the least discussion. Confidentiality is widely recognised as a central principle of ethical medical practice. It is crucial for patient autonomy and privacy. (1) It incentivises people to seek the medical help they need (or at least removes one disincentive). (2) It is therefore not surprising that medical students and new doctors are required to take an oath of confidentiality, and that they have been required to do so for a very long time. The principle of confidentiality has an ancient pedigree and was one of the principles enshrined in the Hippocratic Oath. Despite its importance, the principle may sometimes be overridden, albeit in rare circumstances. Much discussion about confidentiality concerns those exceptional circumstances and is focused on the conditions under which a health care professional may permissibly break confidence. (3) Yet, for all the handwringing about such cases, the principle is threatened most often not by breaches where it is unclear whether confidentiality should be preserved --instead, the most common and alarming threats to confidentiality are in cases where it is (or should be) manifestly obvious that confidentiality should be preserved.