Islamic Jurisprudence on Harm Versus Harm Scenarios in Medical Confidentiality

HEC Forum 36 (2):291-316 (2024)
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Abstract

Although medical confidentiality is widely recognized as an essential principle in the therapeutic relationship, its systematic and coherent practice has been an ethically challenging duty upon healthcare providers due to various concerns of clinical, moral, religious, social, ethical and legal natures. Medical confidentiality can be breached to protect the patient and/or others if maintaining confidentiality causes serious harm. Healthcare professionals may encounter complicated situations whereby the divulgence of a patient’s confidential information may pose a threat to one party whereas the concealment of such information may cause harm to another. After deliberating on the Islamic concept of harm (ḍarar), this paper focuses on the dual duty and conflicts of interests faced by healthcare professionals in the practice of medical confidentiality. Referring to serious infectious diseases with a special mention of AIDS, this study also provides discourse on how healthcare professionals deal with difficult scenarios of conflicts of interests and ethical dilemmas.

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Sayyed Mohamed Muhsin
International Islamic University Malaysia

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References found in this work

Confidentiality: a modified value.H. E. Emson - 1988 - Journal of Medical Ethics 14 (2):87-90.
AIDS and Confidentiality.Grant Gillett - 1987 - Journal of Applied Philosophy 4 (1):15-20.
Health Information Privacy and Public Health.James G. Hodge - 2003 - Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 31 (4):663-671.

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