Disease is privacy, and the bottom line cannot be trampled on

Mondo Social Updated on 2024-01-29

SayingsThe well-known movie star Zhou Haimei passed away due to illness on December 12, and behind her, in addition to nostalgia, there was also a discussion caused by the leakage of medical records.

A medical record of her rescue at a hospital in Shunyi, Beijing, before her death, went viral on the Internet, revealing the patient's personal information, past medical history, physical examination and other information. According to the Shunyi Public Security Bureau, a hospital employee suspected of disseminating medical records has been administratively detained in accordance with the law. The insider also revealed that the other person suspected of disseminating medical records was a friend of the hospital worker.

Because of Zhou Haimei's celebrity effect, the dissemination of medical records has attracted greater attention, coupled with the fact that Si has passed away, the deceased was widely respected during his lifetime, and from the perspective of public emotion, it has also triggered greater condemnation. But in fact, the concept of "disease is privacy" is the basic bottom line of a civilized society, which must not be trampled on, and has nothing to do with the identity of the person who has been leaked, nor does it have anything to do with the public's emotional likes and dislikes. In other words, even if you are a nobody, or someone with a bad reputation, your privacy cannot be revealed.

But unfortunately, this concept is not rooted in people's hearts, on the contrary, the privacy leakage of patients, especially celebrity patients, occurs from time to time. In October 2019, singer Lin Junjie went to the hospital for medical treatment due to physical discomfort during a concert in Zhenjiang, and his medical information was leaked. During the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the condition and flow information of some patients or close contacts were also often screenshotted and disseminated.

Therefore, the concept of "disease is privacy that cannot be divulged" needs to be constantly emphasized. In particular, medical personnel should not be confused between right and wrong, which is the triple requirement of professional ethics, moral norms, and legal norms. In the case of Zhou Haimei's medical record leakage, the medical staff did not distinguish between right and wrong, and regarded the dissemination of patients' medical records as child's play, without any sense of reverence, which is really bad. How can such doctors and medical institutions deliver trust to patients?

I experienced a positive story. A women's underwear company contacted the breast surgery department of a hospital in Beijing through the Red Cross to donate prosthetic breast to breast cancer patients in the hospital. The underwear company asks the recipient to provide personal information such as ID number, ** address, etc., on the grounds that the company wants to verify the information to ensure that the patient has not received their prosthetic milk before. After much deliberation, the hospital suspended the donation because doctors were worried that patients' information would be disrupted by third-party merchants. The director of the department emphasized that the disease is personal privacy, especially for cancer patients, and medical staff have the responsibility to protect patient information from being leaked.

This should become the consensus of doctors, and it is also a professional red line that cannot be crossed. In addition to not voluntarily disclosing it, medical staff also have a responsibility to protect patient information from being leaked. In fact, most medical staff should be aware of what is illegal, especially the "naked" misconduct of taking medical records. But there are still people who do this, and their essence is still not taken seriously, and they are lucky, thinking that they will not be discovered, let alone punished. Of course, at the bottom of the day, there is a lack of respect and reverence for life.

Conceptual education is only one aspect, and more importantly, those who leak patients' privacy must pay the price in accordance with the rules and regulations, whether it is to leave a stain on their careers or bear legal responsibility. China's laws and regulations are not without basis, and both the Physician Law and the Regulations stipulate that physicians and ** shall strictly protect the privacy of patients in their practice activities;The Regulations on the Management of Medical Records of Medical Institutions emphasize that medical institutions and their medical personnel are prohibited from divulging patients' medical records for non-medical, teaching and research purposesAt the same time, the Civil Code also clearly states that medical institutions and their medical personnel shall bear tort liability if they disclose their medical records without the consent of patients. In the case of the leakage of Zhou Haimei's medical records, we should be held accountable fairly in accordance with these laws and regulations, the revocation of the medical license, the compensation for civil compensation, and the punishment of those who should be punished by law if they violate the criminal law. Only in this way can we protect the rights and interests of those who have been violated, and only then can we achieve the effect of setting an example. This is also a necessary move to maintain social integrity.

The discussion triggered by the leakage of Zhou Haimei's medical records can be regarded as a public incident. Of course, we cannot hope that by dealing with an incident, we can establish once and for all the concept of right and wrong that "disease is private". However, in order to promote the progress of ideas and society, it is necessary to put concrete actions into concrete actions, starting with each specific event. We hope that the handling of this celebrity medical record leak incident can serve as an example and clearly convey the following message to the society: the disease is private and cannot be divulged, this red line cannot be crossed, and violators will pay the corresponding price.

*: The Economic Observer.

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