Thompson I E
J Med Ethics. 1979 Jun;5(2):57-64. doi: 10.1136/jme.5.2.57.
This paper examines confidentiality and its nature and analyses the guidelines laid down by the Hippocratic Oath as well as the British and World Medical Associations for maintaining such confidentiality between doctor and patient. There are exceptions to practically any code of rules and this is true also for confidentiality. Some of these exceptions make it appear that very little is confidential. The three values implicit in confidentiality would seem to be privacy, confidence and secrecy. Each of these values is discussed and developed in this paper. In conclusion, the question is suggested that maybe in the face of death, doctor and patient need to re-examine the pre-suppositions of privacy, confidence and secrecy on which the confidential relationship is based.
本文探讨了保密及其本质,并分析了希波克拉底誓言以及英国和世界医学协会所制定的关于在医生与患者之间保持此类保密的指导方针。实际上,几乎任何规则准则都存在例外情况,保密也不例外。其中一些例外情况使得似乎几乎没有什么是保密的。保密中隐含的三个价值似乎是隐私、信任和秘密。本文对这些价值中的每一个都进行了讨论和阐述。最后,有人提出这样一个问题,即在面对死亡时,医生和患者或许需要重新审视保密关系所基于的隐私、信任和秘密的前提假设。