{"id":4925,"date":"2025-11-12T07:02:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T07:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.uehiroethics.hiroshima-u.ac.jp\/en\/?p=4925"},"modified":"2025-11-13T00:29:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T00:29:33","slug":"elementor-44-5-2-2-2-3-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.uehiroethics.hiroshima-u.ac.jp\/en\/elementor-44-5-2-2-2-3-2-2-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Patient privacy is not always paramount\u200b"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Patient privacy is not always paramount<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Hiroshima University ethicists argue that absolute genetic confidentiality can harm families and the public<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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A new study from Hiroshima University challenges the long-held belief that patient confidentiality should always take precedence in medicine. In their essay, published in The American Journal of Bioethics<\/em>, Rie Iizuka, Shu Ishida, and Tsutomu Sawai critically assess philosopher M. K. Kilbride\u2019s suggested framework for determining when healthcare professionals may disclose a patient\u2019s genetic information without consent.<\/p>

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The authors argue that when it comes to genetic information,\u00a0refusing to disclose risks to family members can perpetuate harm across generations, particularly for hereditary conditions such as cancer that often emerge only after individuals have children.<\/p>

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The Hiroshima team argues that Kilbride\u2019s model, which requires six strict conditions all be met before disclosure, is too restrictive and the conditions can contradict each other in practice. For instance, when genetic testing and preventive care are widely available, relatives might learn of their risk through other means, thus technically forbidding disclosure. Yet in settings where such resources are scarce, relatives depend entirely on disclosure to learn their risk, but the information is deemed less useful because preventive measures are inaccessible.<\/p>

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\u201cThis paradox makes it nearly impossible for clinicians to act, even when silence may endanger others,\u201d said Iizuka. \u201cOur analysis shows that absolute confidentiality can unintentionally obstruct prevention, delay treatment, and cause harm.\u201d<\/p>

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The authors point out that in countries like\u00a0Japan, where access to preimplantation genetic testing remains limited, many people\u00a0learn of genetic risks only after disease onset,\u00a0when opportunities for early intervention have already been lost. They emphasize that when hereditary diseases in a parent manifest after a child is born,\u00a0a refusal to share information can have multigenerational consequences, depriving offspring of knowledge that could guide their reproductive and medical choices.<\/p>

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To address these ethical and practical gaps, the authors propose a\u00a0more flexible, context-sensitive approach. Here, rather than requiring all six conditions be met, disclosure is considered when a sufficient subset is satisfied. This, they argue, would promote a more balanced evaluation of confidentiality, family well-being, and public health.<\/p>

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\u201cEthical decision-making in genetics must move beyond rigid checklists,\u201d said Sawai. \u201cDoctors should be encouraged to engage with the moral complexity of each case and not automatically default to silence.\u201d<\/p>

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In the new framework proposed by the Hiroshima team, patient privacy is viewed as one principle among several, rather than an absolute. Such an attitude, they say, will allow healthcare systems to better support informed families, prevent avoidable suffering, and foster a culture of shared responsibility in genetic medicine.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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About the study<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Journal: The American Journal of Bioethics<\/span><\/em><\/p>

Title: When ethical principles conflict: The ethics of genetic confidentiality in context<\/span>
Authors: Rie Iizuka, Shu Ishida & Tsutomu Sawai<\/span><\/p>

DOI: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/15265161.2025.2543711<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBack to News Top<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patient privacy is not always paramount Hiroshima University ethicists argue that absolute genetic confidentiality can harm families and the public A new study from Hiroshima University challenges the long-held belief that patient confidentiality should always take precedence in medicine. In their essay, published in The American Journal of Bioethics, Rie Iizuka, Shu Ishida, and Tsutomu Sawai critically assess philosopher M. K. Kilbride\u2019s suggested framework for determining when healthcare professionals may disclose a patient\u2019s genetic information without consent. \u00a0 The authors argue that when it comes to genetic information,\u00a0refusing to disclose risks to family members can perpetuate harm across generations, particularly for hereditary conditions such as cancer that often emerge only after individuals have children. \u00a0 The Hiroshima team argues that Kilbride\u2019s model, which requires six strict conditions all be met before disclosure, is too restrictive and the conditions can contradict<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_canvas","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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