Government Healthcare Policy, Business and Technology

The rights to privacy and the rights of the citizens to be protected - A conflict between privacy and the public good?

Healthcare IT News: The debate surroundng the conflict between the rights of the citizen to privacy and the responsibility of the citizen to their fellows in terms of public health is not a new one. In many respects this duty of respecting patients' views in light of potential public good associated with disclosure is part of the fabric of the relationship between the medical profession and patients.

Advice to physicians is very clear. Patient confidentiality is a key tenet in all areas of medicine. However, circumstances exist where confidentiality must be broken in the patient’s or society’s best interests.

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