Whereas the patient’s right to receive medical care remains untouched, it could be claimed that the doctor may consider selleck chemicals llc disclosing patient information to the police. This consideration may arise in the situation where the patient outright declares to his doctor that he is going to buy an organ for transplant abroad from a trafficked or paid donor. Generally, the declaration of the patient that he is going to commit a crime falls within the scope of the patient’s right to privacy. The professional secrecy oath, derived from the patient’s right to privacy, is a right of the patient, of which the doctor merely is keeper [19]. What flows from the right to privacy is the privilege of doctors not to disclose patient information Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries to police authorities. The professional secrecy and privilege of nondisclosure prevail over crime enforcement.

Thus, if the physician reports information confidentially entrusted upon him by the patient without patient consent, the doctor can be held criminally Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries liable. However, from established case law, it is clear that the doctor’s privilege of nondisclosure is not absolute. In very exceptional cases, when overriding interests or conflicts of duties are at stake, a duty Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries may arise to breach the professional secrecy oath when the doctor is confronted with information that, if not reported, will lead to ��direct and severe�� harm to another individual [19]. The question thus arises whether a patient’s declaration that he is going to buy an organ for transplant abroad from a paid donor constitutes sufficient justification to report the patient to the police.

Considering contemporary case law, it is very unlikely that a paid donor provides sufficient justification to breach professional secrecy and report the patient to police authorities. ��Direct and severe harm�� is generally defined in the context of intended homicide or Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries child abuse. The purchase of an organ from a paid donor will likely not be equated as a similarly severe crime. However, if the organ would be taken by force from a severely exploited (trafficked) donor, or a murdered donor, this is likely to be accepted as sufficient justification to report the patient to police. Yet, considering that the doctor must clearly motivate breach of professional secrecy, the physician would need to require clear evidence, such as a patient declaration or confession that the donor is going to be directly and severely harmed.

In the absence of such information, a breach of the professional secrecy oath is likely to be considered illegitimate. The foregoing focuses on pretransplant scenarios, yet these considerations are equally relevant for posttransplant situations. All patients returning from (presumed illegal) transplants abroad are entitled Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries Entinostat to medical care. Only in the case of clear evidence of direct and severe harm to the trafficked donor may a doctor consider reporting the patient to the police.