Health Inf Manag. 2008 Jun;37(2):56-59. doi: 10.1177/183335830803700207.
Health information management : journal of the Health Information Management Association of Australia
Judith Mair
PMID: 28758488 DOI: 10.1177/183335830803700207
When a patient sues a healthcare practitioner with regard to their care, the healthcare records are an important part of the evidence used in the case. Litigation is usually heard in open court in the presence of the public and information contained within the records can be aired in that public forum. The issue of patient confidentiality and litigation arose in the case of Kadian v Richards [2004] NSWSC 382, which forms the basis for this report. The decision in Kadian preserves the right of patients to confidentiality of their medical records other than when a patient sues a practitioner for negligence in the delivery of health care; the loss of confidentiality is limited to what is necessary to enable the defendant doctor to prepare an adequate defence; and patient-doctor confidentiality with subsequent treating doctors is preserved unless it becomes inconsistent for the plaintiff patient to press on with litigation while continuing to maintain a full obligation of confidentiality with those doctors.
Keywords: Confidentiality; Disclosure; Doctor-Patient Relations; Litigation; Privacy of Patient Data
