ABSTRACT
Breaching confidentiality will cause patients to lose trust and confidence in the profession, resulting in inadequate information or failures to attend for treatment. The information belongs to the patient and the patient will normally always have the right to decide when and if the information is released to someone else. Confidentiality is a central tenet of the relationship between patient and osteopath, as with all other healthcare professionals. The General Osteopathic Council takes a firm view on confidentiality. In a series of sections in the document Pursuing Excellence it outlines the ethical duties of an osteopath. It is important to remember that the duty of confidentiality extends to the members of the practice team. In reality the osteopath should be able to discuss confidential medical matters with the parents of any child who is not considered competent to make his or her own decisions.
