Thursday, March 3, 2016

What are the potential breaches of doctor patient confidentiality?

Some relationships, like that between a lawyer and his client or that between a psychotherapist and his patient, require that either one or both parties involved maintain confidentiality.

Legally, it is mandated in such relationships that either one or both parties first acquire the consent of the other party before disclosing any information to a third party. Any breach of confidentiality can cause serious consequences whether it is a malpractice, hospital neglect, or nursing home abuse case.

Another prime example of one such relationship would be that between a patient and his/her doctor (not in all cases).

The reason confidentiality is encouraged and required in these relationships is because not only does it protect sensitive and personal information of the people involved such as their medical condition, mental condition, personal thoughts/feelings, and their finances but it also allows for free, uninhibited communication between the two parties, which is essential in such cases. This is from hospital neglect and medical malpractice lawyers in San Joaquin, CA.


Since confidentiality in such relationships is something that is governed by law, it is crucial to know what exactly constitutes a breach of confidentiality and what doesn’t. It is also wise to be aware of what legal actions you can pursue when there has been such a breach.

If you are a patient in such a situation then we suggest that you waste no time in consulting a medical malpractice attorney in California. There will surely be ways in which you can salvage what has happened and sue the doctor and/or the hospital too and receive compensation for your damages even if these damages are non-quantifiable, non-economic damages such as mental anguish. If you want to see mental anguish, just look at the faces of the nurses and doctors in the prolific medical show ER when Dr. Greene passes away. You do not want to go through that.

To understand what you can do if doctor-patient confidentiality has been breached, it is imperative that you understand what exactly doctor-patient confidentiality is.

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Doctor-patient Confidentiality

San Joaquin medical malpractice lawyers proclaim the whole concept of doctor-patient confidentiality is premised around the idea that a patient should not be discouraged from seeking medical care because he or she fears that their personal/medical information may be disclosed to others or may be made public.

This is also paramount because it propagates full disclosure which in turn leads to accurate diagnosis and much higher standards of medical care on the whole. However, there are certain things that a doctor or any other medical professional may reveal to a third party without being legally penalized. This information can include but is not limited to things such as issues relating to health insurance, information of litigation, if the patient/client is conspiring to cause others harm.

What is covered under doctor-patient confidentiality?

Not only are doctors required to not to reveal information to a third party during when the patient in question is under their care but even after treatment is complete and the patient is no longer admitted in the hospital or is longer under their care. Of course, what has been said and done behind closed doors remains private for years, forever. There is not any statute of limitations on doctor-patient confidentiality even Dr. House knows that and he ran his mouth off more than most people.

If you are a victim of medical malpractice or hospital neglect or suspect that a doctor or some other healthcare professional may have revealed sensitive information about you to a third party, it would be wise to consult California medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible and get started working on a possible claim. 

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