Patients Medical Information - Essay Example

Patient’s Medical Information Patient’s Medical Information The case that will be discussed in this essay is about a patient who filed a case against Meadow Wood Hospital (Brady, 2011). The patient sued the hospital for breaching her right to confidentiality by disclosing information in relation to her psychiatric treatment. In one of the sessions of the patient, she revealed that she believed that she had been raped by two individuals. In the criminal proceeding, the medical records of the patient were subpoenaed by the two defendants.

Even without prior consent from the patient, the records custodian of the hospital abided by the subpoena and released the portion of the patient’s record which pertains to her counseling session where she stated that she does not recall being raped. The hospital defended its position by stating that it could not be held liable for complying with the subpoena. Moreover, they stated that the information would have been divulged anyway because it was a significant evidence regarding the patient’s mental condition.

The hospital also claimed that it was vital to the case because it had an impact on her credibility as a witness. The Court agreed with the hospital’s argument and granted their motion for summary judgement. However, the Court concurred with the patient that there was a breach of confidentiality of the physician-patient relationship. The Court further maintained that even if a subpoena has been served to the hospital, it does not prevent them from obtaining the consent of the individual before releasing the records.

This story exemplifies a case where the patient’s right to privacy and confidentiality of her medical records was impinged. There was an obvious violation that was committed by the hospital records custodian. Generally, third parties must always obtain consent of the patient before his medical records are released (Brady, 2011). But according to Brady, the confidentiality of the medical records is not absolute since there are several exceptions to accessing the patient’s records without his authorization (2011).

In the case presented above, the violation could have been prevented if only the hospital got an authorization from the patient for the release of her records. If the hospital obtained the consent of the patient for the release of her medical records and informed her that there was a subpoena to that effect, most probably the patient will not file a case against them. The hospital should have realized that “mental health records contain extremely sensitive information” especially because they “reflect the providers clinical observations and diagnoses, which could readily be misinterpreted by the patient or a third party” (Brady, 2011).

References Brady, J. G. (2011). Medical records - Confidentiality and access. Retrieved November 25, 2011, from Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP Web site: http://www.potteranderson.com/news-publications-0-105.html