Medical Confidentiality: How Is a Patient’s Personal Information Protected?

When people seek medical care, they share information about their health and sometimes deeply personal aspects of their lives. Keeping this information confidential is essential to trust between patients and healthcare professionals. Medical confidentiality is therefore both a professional ethical duty and a legal obligation.

Under Article 45 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the Protection of Citizens’ Health,” medical confidentiality covers the fact that a person has sought medical care, their health status and diagnosis, and other information obtained during examination and treatment.

This means that protection extends beyond diagnoses and test results. Even the fact that a person has sought medical assistance is confidential.

The law prohibits people who become aware of this information during their studies or while performing professional, official or other duties from disclosing it without the consent of the individual or their legal representative, except in the circumstances specified by law.

Confidentiality is therefore not solely the responsibility of the treating doctor. Others who gain access to this information while carrying out their duties must also keep it confidential.

Article 45 permits this in the following circumstances:

▪️ to examine and treat a person who is unable to express their wishes because of the severity of their condition;

▪️ when there is a threat of the spread of infectious diseases, mass poisoning or mass harm;

▪️ in response to requests from bodies conducting pre-investigation checks, inquiry and investigation bodies, the prosecutor’s office or a court in connection with pre-trial proceedings or a court hearing;

▪️ in response to a request from the National Agency for Social Protection under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to determine a person’s need for social services and assistance;

▪️ to inform parents or legal representatives when providing care to a child under the age of 14;

▪️ when there are grounds to suspect that harm to a person’s health resulted from unlawful acts or an accident.

These exceptions allow information to be provided for the relevant purposes. They do not authorise its unrestricted disclosure to the public.

People who lawfully receive information covered by medical confidentiality are subject to liability for its disclosure on the same basis as medical and pharmaceutical professionals.

A patient’s willingness to speak openly about their health is closely linked to confidence that their information will be protected. Respecting medical confidentiality helps preserve that trust and safeguard patients’ privacy.