duty to maintain confidentiality

Health professionals and hospitals are under a strict ethical and legal duty to keep patient information confidential. A breach of this duty could lead to the practitioner being disciplined by the relevant professional body, and the patient might be able to sue for breach of confidentiality. As a result, a health professional will normally only provide information to a person other than the patient in the following circumstances:

if the disclosure is justified in the public interest - so as to prevent a breach of the nation's security, a fraud, an illegal act or matter otherwise destructive to the nation or its people, including matters medically dangerous to the public (such as serious infectious diseases), or for the health of the person concerned

if the doctor is required to release information either by law prior to a court hearing, or when required to attend court under a subpoena to give evidence
where a statute requires a doctor to release information to a health authority when he or she treats a patient with a serious infectious disease, including sexually transmitted diseases
if the patient has directly or indirectly approved the release of information, for example to a solicitor or another doctor, or there is an emergency and it is important to provide information to the treating doctor or hospital.