Published Article

Accurate and sensitive communication of health care information is essential to effective patient management in the pain clinic, operating room, other health care settings. However, information relating to the health care status of a patient is sensitive and may be embarrassing or damaging if it falls into the wrong hands. Ethical cannons of medicine and statutory provisions have emphasized the obligation of the physician to safeguard patient confidences and to avoid the tort of negligence. However, threats to the confidentiality of medical information abound and are even more significant in our age of instantaneous communication characterized by the growing use of email, facsimile, and the Internet. This article outlines the description of the law of tort and its application to health care.