ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how English courts have developed equitable remedies for the protection of confidences, including medical confidentiality, and how the Human Rights Act 1998 has influenced the law in this area. It addresses the case law regarding medical privilege in criminal court and the physician's disclosure of confidential medical information for the purposes of crime prevention and criminal prosecution. The chapter introduces the statutory provisions regulating the search for and seizure of medical records by the police. The UK does not have a Bill of Rights listing fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual and providing them with constitutional rank. If the physician-patient relationship is based on a contract, the doctor is under a contractual obligation to maintain the patient's secrets. The physician is under no obligation, and cannot normally be compelled to disclose confidential medical information for the purpose of crime prevention.
