Abstract
Confidentiality is very much a topic of the 1980s. We have already examined patients’ rights and the rights of health care staff. Rapid developments in information technology have made the public aware that detailed information may be held about them. The Data Protection Act has seen to that, although in fact that act only gives us some safeguards when data are held in computerised form. It is hoped that the spirit of the act will spill over into other kinds of record keeping, but clearly alternative kinds of records will be potentially the most interesting if they are the ones to which the individual has no right of access.
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Notes and References
UKCC, Code of Professional Conduct for the Nurse, Midwife and Health Visitor (2nd edn) (London: UKCC, 1984).
UKCC, Confidentiality: An elaboration of Clause 9 of the Second Edition of the UKCC’s Code of Professional Conduct for the Nurse Midwife and Health Visitor (London: UKCC, 1987).
RCN, Guidelines on Confidentiality in Nursing (London: RCN, 1980).
R. Gillon, Philosophical Medical Ethics (London: John Wiley, 1986).
S. Bok, Secrets: Concealment and Revelation (Oxford University Press, 1986).
BMA, The Handbook of Medical Ethics (London: BMA, 1984).
J. Harris, The Value of Life: an introduction to medical ethics (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985).
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© 1989 Kath M. Melia
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Melia, K.M. (1989). To Tell or Not to Tell. In: Everyday Nursing Ethics. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-10399-7_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-10399-7_12
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