Question

2. Medical confidentiality and privacy are foundational ethico-legal principles that are central to the TRUST between doctors and patients. The COVID-19 pandemic has however divided opinion on the subject matter. Your Medical Superintendent was minded to follow the protocol of, identify, isolate, test and treat patients who test positive to COVID-19 as part of the standard requirements for managing public health emergencies. However, there was concern that doing so may breach their medical confidentiality and privacy. The management was informed by you that while medical confidentiality and privacy are central to the professional-patient relationship, these are by no means absolute ethico-legal principles.

Give five (5) exceptions to the duty of medical confidentiality, where the public interest in the disclosure of health information outweighs the public interest in protecting patient confidentiality.

Answer 1

As it is mentioned above that our Medical Superintendent was minded to follow the protocol of identify, isolate, test and treat patients who test positive to COVID-19, but patient confidentiality is also very much important and it develops mutual understanding between doctors and patients. In this COVID19 pandemic every is worried about the spreading of disease, and this disease is very dangerous also, so, main thing which is to keep in mind is isolation, handwashing, social distancing, boosting immunity etc.

Protocol and rules of the hospital is to be followed properly but confidentiality is very much important so a doctor or nurse must develop a good relationship with the patient and should let them to understand the severity of the pandemic, so that they must understand how much isolation is very much necesary for the community to prevernt the spread of the deadly disease.

For this the doctor or nurse should build up a confidence within the patient to fight against the disease.And should help them to cope with the situation, CORONA is treatable but isolation is very much important to preserve the near and dear ones to keep them safe so dealing with the patients with love and providing them care may lead to fast improvement from the disease.

If any patient is tests positive then the doctor or nurse should keep the information secret and confidentiality should be maintained and only close relatives should be informed. Telling all the personal information infront of other patient is not at all a good ethics.