Toward a Typology of Confidentiality Breaches in Health Care Communication: An Ethic of Care Analysis of Provider Practices and Patient Perceptions

Abstract

Confidentiality should be a fundamental right of patients in a health care setting. However, health care providers who take an oath to uphold confidentiality often neglect this basic patient right. Breaching confidential health information is a serious ethical problem and a communication issue that, historically, has received limited empirical, theoretical, or practical attention. The goals of this project were to frame this issue from an ethic of care perspective, define the concept of a confidentiality breach, identify the types of confidentiality breaches being communicated in health care organizations, and understand how patients perceive these breaches. Based on interviews with 51 patients and observations of health care providers, a definition and typology of confidentiality breaches emerged. Theoretical and practical implications also became evident.