Paper II
Question
Enlist four common situations in which the Confidentiality principle of Bioethics could be breached
Answer
Four common situations in which the principle of confidentiality (a core principle of medical ethics/bioethics) could be breached:
- Legal requirement to report — mandatory reporting of certain conditions to public health authorities (e.g., notifiable infectious diseases, gunshot/stab wounds, suspected child abuse or elder abuse).
- Risk of serious harm to third parties — the “duty to warn/protect” (e.g., a patient expressing credible intent to harm an identifiable third person, or a patient with a condition posing danger to others, such as an epileptic driver who refuses to stop driving).
- Court order/subpoena — when a court of law legally compels disclosure of medical records or information as part of legal proceedings.
- Patient’s own consent — when the patient explicitly authorizes disclosure of their information to a third party (e.g., insurance company, employer, family member).
(Other accepted examples: suspected infectious disease outbreak requiring contact tracing; a minor’s health information disclosed to parents/guardians under certain circumstances; sharing information among the treating healthcare team for continuity of care.)