ABSTRACT
Confidentiality has long been part of the ethical codes of the medical profession. From the days of the Hippocratic Oath to the ethical code of the General Medical Council today doctors have been exhorted to maintain the confidentiality of their patient information. There are two main reasons why it can be regarded as being of importance. The first is that it is necessary because unless it is assured then patients will not be willing to come forward for treatment. This is an argument forcibly used in the context of certain medical conditions, for example venereal disease and HIV/AIDS. In X v Y ([1988] 2 All ER 648), Rose J. stated that
In the long run preservation of confidentiality is the only way of securing public health: otherwise doctors will be discredited as a source of education, for future patients will not come forward if doctors are going to squeal on them. Consequently confidentiality is vital to secure public as well as private health, for unless those affected come forward they cannot be counselled and selftreatment does not provide the best care: opportunistic infections such as a shortness of breath and signs of disease in the nervous system… are better detected and responded to by observation, investigation and management in hospital (at 653).
