ABSTRACT
Breaching Confidentiality A rough guide to breaching confi dentiality It is good medical practice to contact your medico-legal representatives (MDU, MPS) or the General Medical Council (GMC) for further advice and clarity on when to breach confi dentiality Breach You are notifying a birth or death of a patient A court order has been passed obliging you to do so A search warrant has been issued by a judge, which
requires you to The police have asked for the personal details
(name and address) of one of your patients who has committed an offence (no clinical details)
The patient has a notifi able disease (HIV/AIDS is not notifi able)
You are notifying the termination of a pregnancy Discretion req. A third party (e.g. a relative, a partner of an HIV+
patient) is at high risk of harm Patients who are medically unfi t to drive continue to
do so You want to share information with other healthcare
members You are assisting in the detection and prevention of
serious crime Do not breach The patient has committed a minor crime (e.g.
