Patient confidentiality

Foundation of trust

The fact that a patient can tell their GP anything in confidence is the foundation of the trust that's needed in a patient-doctor relationship. But sometimes, as a doctor, honouring that trust can be tricky.

Doctors are governed by the rules of confidentiality, which are there to help and protect patients. They can't divulge a patient's medical history, even to their closest family members, without the patient’s permission, no matter how much they might want to.

Other medical staff, such as the nurses or receptionists are also bound by confidentiality over any medical information they may see whilst they work.

Trust allows patients to share important and sensitive information confidently and freely with their doctor. Take away that trust and they won't provide the information the GP needs to come to the right diagnosis.

Exceptions

There are rare occasions when a doctor may sacrifice confidentiality because the patient's actions may be putting others at risk; when someone continues driving despite fits and blackouts, for example, or when someone with HIV continues to have unprotected sex and doesn't tell their partner about their infection. But these are exceptions, not rules.

Many young people mistakenly believe that after they've been to the doctor (for contraception, an sexually transmitted infection check or a pregnancy test, for example) the first thing the doctor will do is phone their parents. This isn't true.

Equally, if a mother asks for information about her daughter, for example, she'll be turned away unless the daughter has given her permission, usually in writing or by being there at that time. Her daughter may have told her everything, but the doctor can't risk breaking her confidentiality. For more information, see Teenagers and confidentiality.

It's impossible to keep everybody happy all the time. The rules of confidentiality are there to do good, but they don't always make life easy.