Medical confidentiality break in an emergency

When is it permissible to break the doctor's obligation to secrecy?

04/02/2015

Do doctors have to break their confidentiality in certain cases? This question is hotly debated since it became known that the co-pilot of the German Wings flight 4U9525 was apparently treated for mental problems. Because as the prosecutor Dusseldorf currently informs, Andreas L. „[...] further visits to specialists in neurology, psychiatry and psychotherapy with appropriate sick leave took place“, although no suicidality or foreign aggressiveness had been attested, so the message of the Attorney General Ralf Herrenbrück on.

Confidentiality persists even after the death of the patient
Anyone who goes to a doctor for treatment can usually rely on the fact that no private information reaches the outside world. Because doctors are usually subject to §203 Criminal Code (StGB) of secrecy, by which they are obliged to keep silent about all events in practice. If this is not respected and „Disclosure of a personal secret "of a patient may even be punished with up to one year's imprisonment.The duty of confidentiality continues even after the death of the patient and includes all spoken words, written messages from the patient, records of patients, X-rays and Other findings include the information of the German Medical Association.

Release of confidentiality must be based on the free decision of the patientHowever, if a doctor is released from confidentiality, he may well provide information. However, this requires a prior explanation of the patient, based on the free decision and must be indispensable, e.g. The case is when another doctor needs findings for a treatment or a laboratory data for examinations. But this is not the only exception: For besides a physician may also pass information to third parties, if after § 34 StGB (Justifying Emergency) „the revelation to protect a higher quality legal asset from serious damage is required“, For example, if a patient expresses concrete intentions for a serious offense to his doctor, the German Medical Association continues to write. The breach of confidentiality may also be justified if, for example, Relatives should be warned of a potential contagion of a serious infectious disease from the patient or authorities should be informed that a patient may no longer be allowed to drive because of his alcohol addiction.

The medical confidentiality is a „high good“
Would the treating physicians of 27-year-old copilot Andreas L. possibly have to pass confidential data on the mental health of their patient to the employer or the supervisory authorities? A difficult question that is currently being discussed controversially and highly emotionally - according to the President of the German Medical Association, Prof. Der. Frank Ulrich Montgomery, however, should be considered carefully: „The hitherto known backgrounds of the terrible plane crash last Tuesday must not lead to hasty political and legal decisions. The confidentiality of medical confidentiality as well as the constitutionally protected patient confidentiality is a high good and a human right for all citizens in Germany.“ (No)