The Irish High Court has refused to permit the Child and Family Agency (CFA) to disclose the HIV status of a patient to a third party without his consent.
The party named A in the proceedings, is a seventeen year old boy who has had HIV since birth. A has not disclosed his HIV status to his friends, including his close friend B. The CFA claimed it was likely that A had had unprotected sex with B. The Court was asked to decide whether a doctor could disclose a patient’s HIV status to another person who the doctor believes is having unprotected sex with the patient. The Court concluded that A’s HIV status could not be disclosed to B without his consent. The Court found that the public interest in ensuring that patients can have absolute confidence in revealing their most private medical and personal information to doctors, without fear of disclosure to third parties, superseded the right of B to be warned that if she engages in unprotected sexual intercourse with A, she risks contracting HIV.
It was for the CFA to prove that A was having unprotected sex with B, creating a risk to her health, and therefore warranted a disclosure of A’s condition. The CFA stated that A and B posted photos on social media of them kissing; on another occasion B was found in A bed and both parties are in daily contact with each other through messaging. While the CFA admitted that these situations separately do no amount to a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, together it seems likely that they were in a relationship.
The Court held that the disclosure of a patient’s medical information must meet a high threshold and is not something to be taken lightly. The Court should consider whether a ‘failure to breach patient confidentiality creates a significant risk of death or very serious harm to an innocent third party.’
The Court found that it is likely that A and B are in an intimate relationship, however, the CFA did not prove that they were having unprotected sex. It was also said by the Court that as HIV does not have the same danger to it now, as many live normal lives with the help of medication, it cannot be said that there was a significant harm to B if she did have unprotected sex.
The Court also look at the importance of being able trust of your doctor and know that everything said is kept confidential. If the Court was to order the disclosure of this sensitive information, it may result in patients no longer telling their doctors about serious health issues, thereby creating a risk to the individuals themselves and to third parties.
Click here for the judgement of The Child and Family Agency v A.A. & anor.
Click here and here for further commentary on the case.