ReviewJournal of general internal medicine2003
Patient perspectives of medical confidentiality: a review of the literature.
Review in Journal of general internal medicine, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- "Let's get the best quality research we can": public awareness and acceptance of consent to use existing data in health research: a systematic review and qualitative study.BMC medical research methodology · 2013Pooled it
- Fear of health insurance loss among individuals at risk for Huntington disease.American journal of medical genetics. Part A · 2008Trial
- Confidentiality and family involvement in healthcare: a mixed-method approach of physicians' perspectives in Jordan.BMC medical ethics · 2025Article
- Exploring the Ethical Landscape of Artificial Intelligence in Dentistry: Insights From a Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- Accuracy of privacy preserving record linkage for real world data in the United States: a systemic review.JAMIA open · 2025Review
- Keeping medical information safe and confidential: a qualitative study on perceptions of Israeli physicians.Israel journal of health policy research · 2024Article
- Patient Perspectives on Portal-Based Anxiety and Depression Screening in HIV Care: A Qualitative Study Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Telehealth in remote Australia: a supplementary tool or an alternative model of care replacing face-to-face consultations?BMC health services research · 2023Article
- In Defence of informed consent for health record research - why arguments from 'easy rescue', 'no harm' and 'consent bias' fail.BMC medical ethics · 2020Article
- Confidentiality challenges surrounding plasma therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case discussion in Iran.Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine · 2020Article
- Patient Privacy Perspectives on Health Information Exchange in a Mental Health Context: Qualitative Study.JMIR mental health · 2019Article
- Perceptions and Preferences About Granular Data Sharing and Privacy of Behavioral Health Patients.Studies in health technology and informatics · 2019Article
- Patient privacy: Awareness and attitudes of Iran University of Medical Sciences medical students.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2019Article
- Contextual Anonymization for Secondary Use of Big Data in Biomedical Research: Proposal for an Anonymization Matrix.JMIR medical informatics · 2018Article
- Duty of Notification and Aviation Safety-A Study of Fatal Aviation Accidents in the United States in 2015.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
- Challenges of Confidentiality in Clinical Settings: Compilation of an Ethical Guideline.Iranian journal of public health · 2018Article
- Do patients know that physicians should be confidential? study on patients' awareness of privacy and confidentiality.Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine · 2018Article
- Biomedical Big Data: New Models of Control Over Access, Use and Governance.Journal of bioethical inquiry · 2017Article
- Patients' support for health information exchange: a literature review and classification of key factors.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2017Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo lay the groundwork for a better understanding of patient views on medical confidentiality.
designStudies were found by searching medline, bioethicsline, and selected bibliographies. Articles concerning physician perspectives or implications of legal and administrative regulations were excluded. Only peer-reviewed journal articles reporting original research on patients' confidentiality views and conduct were included. MAIN
resultsMany patients are unaware of or misunderstand their legal or ethical right to medical confidentiality protections, which leads them to both over- and underestimate confidentiality protections. The possibility that medical information might be revealed, intentionally or not, to acquaintances in a clinic or other social community troubles patients as much as information release to insurers or employers. A significant minority of patients distrust confidentiality protections, leading some to report that they delay or forgo medical care. If doubtful that confidentiality will be upheld, patients will act independently to protect information.
conclusionsOur review found a wider variety of understandings and beliefs about medical confidentiality among patients than are often indicated in the writings of practitioners or legal experts. As medical confidentiality regulations evolve, these differences need to be recognized and accounted for in interactions between practitioners and patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.