Editorial
BIOETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY IN PRENATAL CARE
Aleksandra Frković
Abstract
The protection of privacy and confidentiality is considered to be the basic right of each individual. In medical care the word »privacy« is used in three different forms or concepts: physical privacy, information privacy and privacy in decision making. It is considered that renouncing privacy is a condition for confidentiality. All personal medical information is confidential, except the cases when the patient wants to reveal the information to the third person or in cases when it is in accordance with law. When the information about someone’s health condition can seriously affect the health of other people, it is right to break the obligation of confidentiality. In the doctor-patient relationship the model of authorized person is usually applied, which is based on confidence. The doctor-patient relationship is very complex when it is about pregnant woman. Regarding the relation doctor-pregnant woman-fetus, some authors accept the »model of two patients« and it means that the mother and fetus are the patients of one doctor. In case of interest conflict between the mother and fetus the doctor is expected to respect the autonomy and the mother’s right to confidentiality. Among numerous dilemmas which can appear in prenatal care regarding the confidentiality and privacy, some questions related to AIDS, prenatal diagnostics of fetal anomalies and adolescents were considered. During pregnancy, education and consultation about everything that can affect mother’s and fetus health are necessary. A continuous informing of a pregnant woman in order to gain consent for some procedures in prenatal care contributes to confidentiality, but also to keeping privacy.
Keywords
bioethics; confidentiality; privacy; prenatal care
Hrčak ID:
9665
URI
Publication date:
30.9.2005.
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