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. 2005 Sep;31(9):531–535. doi: 10.1136/jme.2004.010157

Balancing confidentiality and the information provided to families of patients in primary care

M Perez-Carceles 1, J Pereniguez 1, E Osuna 1, A Luna 1
PMCID: PMC1734221  PMID: 16131555

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to describe family doctors' attitudes to confidentiality and providing patient information to relatives as well as their justifications for sharing information.

Method: A descriptive postal questionnaire was self-administered by family doctors.

Results: Of 227 doctors, 95.1% provided information to a patient's family and over a third (35%) disclosed information to others without prior patient consent.

Conclusions: The findings reveal that family doctors should pay more attention to their patients' rights to information, privacy, and confidentiality, and reflect very carefully on the fine balance between this and the occasional need for the support and collaboration of family members in delivery of care. Emphasis should be placed on ethics and legal problems during undergraduate education and in-service training of doctors.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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