Question 109 · LDEK · Medical confidentiality

The dentist has written on his Facebook page that one of his patients is a known actress, with mentioning her name and describing performed dental procedure, which was implantation. How would you assess the situation?

1. AA. the dentist is allowed to publish all of the information which he deems appropriate on his private FB profile. There was no violation of doctor-patient confidentiality.
2. BB. the dentist is not allowed to publish publicly information, which allows for identification of a patient without patient’s consent, however this rule does not apply to celebrities. There was no violation of doctor-patient confidentiality.
3. CC. the dentist did not make the patient’s photos publicly known or did not reveal the details of the surgery. There was no violation of doctor-patient confidentiality.
4. DD. the dentist cannot publish publicly information which allows for identification of a patient without patient’s consent. There was a doctor-patient confidentiality violation.
5. EE. the dentist cannot publish publicly information which allows for identification of a patient without patient’s consent, however publishing such information on a private FB profile is not considered publishing patient’s information. There was no violation of doctor-patient confidentiality.