McQuoid-Mason D J
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
S Afr Med J. 2020 Apr 24;110(6):461-462.
Given the increasing numbers of ethical and legal issues arising from the COVID-19 epidemic, particularly in respect of patient-doctor confidentiality, doctors must explain to patients how the measures taken to combat the spread of the virus impact on their confidentiality. Patients must be reassured that doctors are ethically bound to continue to respect such confidentiality, but it should be made clear to them that doctors must also comply with the demands of the law. While the Constitution, statutory law and the common law all recognise a person's right to privacy, during extraordinary times such as the COVID-19 pandemic, confidentiality must be breached to a degree to halt the spread of the virus.
鉴于新冠疫情引发了越来越多的伦理和法律问题，尤其是在患者与医生保密方面，医生必须向患者解释为抗击病毒传播所采取的措施如何影响其隐私。必须让患者放心，医生在伦理上有义务继续尊重这种保密性，但也应向他们明确说明，医生还必须遵守法律要求。虽然宪法、成文法和普通法都承认个人的隐私权，但在新冠疫情这样的特殊时期，为阻止病毒传播，在一定程度上必须打破保密性。
