Electronic Health Records — The Case for Accountability in Hospitals

Abstract

Privacy awareness in the relationships between doctors and patients at first sight seems to be of secondary importance. Indeed, a SwissCom CEO¹ once said that only healthy people care about their privacy. Ill people were more interested in getting the right medical treatment. However, the Hippocratic Oath² is one of the oldest examples of a professional obligation to keep information confidential, and for good reason. A patient who cannot be certain that the intimate details which he has to disclose to his doctor in order to receive the best treatment are treated confidentially will lose trust in his doctor and therefore withhold potentially vital information. Therefore confidentiality and trust in the relationship between a patient and his doctor is an essential prerequisite for successful medical treatment.