1st Edition

Medical Confidentiality and Legal Privilege

By Jean V. McHale Copyright 1993
    172 Pages
    by Routledge

    172 Pages
    by Routledge

    First Published in 2004. Confidentiality in the era of AIDS is a 'buzz-word' in medical practice. But in the court room there is no confidentiality. A doctor can be forced to disclose her patient's confidences. This book asks: Why is this the case? Why are other professional confidential relationships protected in the court room? What is the nature of confidentiality in modern medical practice? Do doctors really keep patient information confidential? Is there a need for statutory reform?

    1 SHOULD THE DOCTOR TELL? 2 COMPARISONS AND INCONSISTENCIES 3 CONFIDENTIALITY: A PRINCIPLE TO BE PROTECTED? 4 CONFIDENTIALITY: RHETORIC OR REALITY? 5 PRACTICAL PROBLEMS IN PRIVILEGE ENACTMENT 6 MEDICAL PRIVILEGE, COSTS AND APPLICATION

    Biography

    Jean V. McHale is Lecturer in Law at the University of Nottingham.

    `[McHale's] considered opinion is an excellent starting point to finding some way of preserrving the vestiges of medical confidentiality.' - - Natalie-Jane McDonald, British Medical Journal

    `This is an impressive book and a fine example of the way in which ethics and law combine in discussions of issues in mesical ethics. I certainly recommend it to anyone working in the firlds of health care ethics or medical law.' - Heather Draper, Journal of Applied Ethics

    `This interesting and well written book ... should be a useful addition to the library of those who are interested in confidentiality and the dilemmas it creates.' - A. McCall Smith, Journal of Medical Ethics