Patient privacy strains patient-doc confidentiality
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, October 4, 2004
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When a patient has an inherited disease or mutation that could potentially afflict other family members, does the physician have the responsibility to tell the family? That's the question experts argue over in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, according to the Associated Press.
The article debates the notion of a mandatory duty to warn nonpatients. Physicians believe this requirement could violate the confidentiality of the doctor-patient relationship and break privacy laws such as HIPAA, the AP reported. However, failure to inform family members has led to several lawsuits.
As a solution, the article suggests physicians follow the lead of the American Medical Association: adopt a policy stating that physicians must inform patients of the possible effect genetic testing could have for their relatives.
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