Parents may sign a patient confidentiality waiver to allow their children’s medical records to be shared with another medical provider or other entity, such as a sports program or school. This type of waiver is required even for a doctor to provide the patient’s information to a specialist or other medical provider.
Patients may waive the confidentiality of their medical records by giving written permission for a medical provider to share that information with a specified person or entity. HIPAA sets national standards for the protection of individuals’ health information, and requires notification of patients in the event a breach of confidential, electronically-maintained, health information occurs. While confidentiality in the medical field dates back to the Hippocratic Oath, laws governing this principle have become more strict in recent decades.Įach state has laws governing the release of medical information, however the federal government addressed the issue, mandating the strict protection of patient information, with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Doctors and all healthcare providing facilities and staff are required by law to maintain the confidentiality of patients. Patient ConfidentialityĬonfidentiality is an integral part of caring for people in the mental health and medical fields. As shocking as this revelation may be to the attorney, he cannot divulge the information to the police or anyone else. While meeting with his attorney, John discloses the fact that he had murdered his previous wife seven years ago, and hid the body. John has been arrested and charged with the murder of his girlfriend, who was beaten severely and left to die. Again, this enables the client to speak candidly to his attorney, giving him all information that may be necessary to defend his case, without fear of incriminating himself in the legal system. In a criminal case, an attorney must keep all information divulged by his client, even if it has to do with crimes previously committed, confidential. Most attorneys take the attorney-client privilege very seriously, and do not disclose any confidential information, though they may attempt to convince the client to alter his conduct to stay within the bounds of the law. Disclosure of this type of information is not mandatory in most jurisdictions, but left to the discretion of the attorney. This is the case if the attorney believes that his client poses a danger to another person, or that the client is poised to cause serious financial injury to another. While rare, certain circumstances may exist in which an attorney may divulge information given in confidence to law enforcement or other officials. Exceptions to Attorney-Client Confidentiality In the event an attorney breaks the expected attorney-client confidentiality, he may be subject to serious civil penalties, as well as disciplinary action by the bar association. Attorney-client privilege applies in any type of matter, whether civil, business, or criminal. This mandated confidentiality, referred to as the “attorney-client privilege,” enables individuals to speak candidly and openly when consulting with a lawyer, without fear of negative consequences that may come with making information known. When an individual consults with an attorney, the law requires the information to be held “in confidence,” meaning that the attorney, and his staff, may not discuss the information with anyone else, except with the express consent of the client. This type of discretion is not automatically assumed, but requires an express agreement between the parties that such information will be kept secret, usually in the form of a signed confidentiality agreement.
Other businesses have a right to expect employees or other business associates to maintain confidentiality.
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