When the violation of medical confidentiality is imposed by law. Another side effect of Law No 20.584

A law of rights and duties of patients was recently enacted in Chile (Law No 20.584). When someone dies, the law allows his inheritors to have access to part or the totality of the medical record. Therefore, they may become acquainted of information that the patient gave in confidence to his physician, protected by "the medical confidentiality". The original bill included the possibility that a doctor could deny information that could cause harm to the former holder of the clinical record, but this precaution was banned by congressmen, seriously damaging the institution of "medical confidentiality", a cornerstone of the medical-patient relationship since the beginning of medicine.