Disclosing health information breaches of confidence,privacy and the notion of the "treating team"

The authors utilise cases collected during a randomised population survey to illustrate some of the legal and policy issues concerning routine transfers of information between treating practitioners. Their analysis suggests that implied consent for many routine uses of health information should not be assumed. An important part of consent to health information disclosure is the patients' ability to tailor its scope and content. This requires that they should be provided with additional information. Introducing the measures advised into the clinical setting would bring health information-gathering practices closer to compliance with the collection principles contained in Australian information privacy legislation.