Confidentiality: Charting Courses

To provide effective medical care, physicians must be comfortable discussing physical conditions and associated psychosocial issues such as sexual history and substance use. And in order to be comfortable sharing such private information, patients must feel safe with their providers; they must have confidence that intimate details will remain confidential. Confidentiality is at the heart of the doctor-patient relationship. It is necessary for the kind of trust that contributes to overall well-being. When a provider earns a patient’s trust, a fruitful and even warm partnership can evolve. But when a patient’s confidentiality is violated, the patient can lose trust in