Ethics
2 What should you do if a child has a life-threatening condition and the parents refuse a simple, curative treatment (e.g., antibiotics for meningitis)?
First try to persuade the parents to change their mind; if this fails, attempt get a court order to give the treatment. Do not treat until you have talked to the courts unless it is an emergency. Even with Jehovah’s witnesses who do not want their children to receive a blood transfusion, you should seek the court’s assistance in getting the transfusion if it is the only treatment option available.
5 With whom can you discuss your patient’s condition?
Only with people who need to know because they are directly involved in the patient’s care and with people authorized by the patient (e.g., authorized family members). Do not tell a medical colleague who is uninvolved with the patient’s care how that patient is doing, even if the colleague is a friend of yours or the patient.
6 In what situations are you allowed to breach patient confidentiality?
Break confidentiality only in the following situations:
The patient asks you to do so.
The courts mandate you to do so.
You must fulfill the duty to warn or protect (if a patient says that he is going to kill someone or himself, you have to tell someone, the authorities, or both).
The patient has a reportable disease.
The patient is a danger to others (e.g., if a patient is blind or has seizures, let the proper authorities know so that they can revoke the patient’s license to drive; if the patient is an airplane pilot and is paranoid, hallucinates, and suffers from schizophrenia, then authorities need to know).
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