Informing the patients by their physicians is a normal process necessary for physician/patient relationship. Informing/not informing the patient’s partner after informing him/her contains ethical dilemmas especially for sexually transmitted diseases. HIV positivity is generally hidden from the sexual partner of the patient and from the community as AIDS transmits by sexual contact. Although HIV can transmit via blood and breast feeding, sexual contact is the first to be remembered for transmission. This condition can cause the patients not to get treatment, to be fired or to get divorced.
Medical records of a HIV positive patient must be kept by the physician because of confidentiality and privacy. But keeping this information would bring unprotected sexual contact between the HIV positive patient and his/her partner and harming another individual.
Right of intimacy in health services is due to right of respect to secrecy of private life which is a basic human right. Recently, keeping the information about the privacy which has an important function for getting an effective treatment along with increasing efforts for keeping the patients’rights in health services and providing confidence in doctor/patient relationship have been a general rule. Different approaches have been developed for determining the limits of this rule. One of them suggests that secrets of the patient must be kept under every condition whereas the other suggests that professional secrets can be declared under circumstances that regulations warrant and if the community benefits are in question. This article discusses the use of various resources, compiled, ethical and legally discussed.
Keywords: Ethics, Confidentiality, Disclosure, Legislation
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