The authorities of medical clinics and hospitals should be aware of the preservation of medical secrecy and personal data of clients. For non-compliance with these requirements of the law, not only disciplinary and civil liability is provided, but also administrative, criminal.

In this article, you will learn what types of punishments are provided for by the laws of the Russian Federation and who will be responsible for the harm caused to the patient in this way.

Who is responsible for disclosing medical confidentiality - is it possible to recover harm from a patient from an organization?

Preservation of medical (medical) secrecy is the main rule of any medical worker.

Violation of the rights of a client of a medical organization means a violation of the laws of the Russian Federation.

For their non-fulfillment, the responsibility will be:

  1. Head of a medical institution.
  2. A legal entity engaged in medical activities. In accordance with article 1068 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the company, not only its employees, can pay for the harm caused.
  3. The patient's physician.
  4. orderly.
  5. Registry Specialist.
  6. Pharmacist, pharmacist.
  7. Trainee, intern.
  8. Other healthcare staff.
  9. An official who received information about a client-patient through an official request to a medical organization.

Thus, you must understand that both the employee of the company - regardless of whether he occupies a managerial position or not, and the organization itself, depending on the circumstances of the disclosure and the harm caused to the citizen, will bear responsibility.

Disciplinary and civil liability of medical personnel for disclosure of medical confidentiality and personal information of patients

Let us first consider the milder punishments that an employee of a medical institution can expect.

Disciplinary responsibility

An employee of a medical company may be subject to disciplinary liability for failure to perform their duties, non-compliance with the Charter of the organization and violation of the rights of the patient / client, which will bring moral or material harm to the citizen.

According to article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, disciplinary punishments can be expressed in:

  1. Note.
  2. Reprimand.
  3. Dismissal.

Any punishment can be supplemented by the payment of the moral damage caused to the injured Russian.

Civil Liability

Such liability implies compensation for non-pecuniary damage for the harm caused to the health, life, property of the patient/client.

Punishment can be imposed only when a citizen applies to the court with a statement of claim.

In civil law, the concept of disclosure of medical secrets is closely related to the concept of disclosure of a citizen's personal data.

We list the articles of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, according to which civil liability may arise, and indicate what punishment is provided for violators.

Article number

Perfect violation

Punishment

Article 15 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

The personal information of the patient was disclosed and his personal property was damaged.

Reimbursement of expenses related to the damage caused to the property of a citizen.

Article 150, 12 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

An employee of a medical institution violated medical secrecy, divulged personal and family secrets, violated the non-property rights of a citizen and other intangible benefits that belonged to the client from birth and are considered inalienable, non-transferable.

A citizen can seek recognition of the violation of his rights through the court, and he can also:

To pay damages.

Claim a penalty.

Claim compensation for non-pecuniary damage.

Articles 151, 1099, 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

A specialist of a medical organization caused moral harm to a client-patient, expressed in physical and moral suffering.

Moral harm can also be caused by the inaction of an employee of a medical organization.

The client will be able to demand compensation for non-pecuniary damage through the judicial authorities.

Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

The head of a medical company caused harm to the person or property of a citizen.

Payment of harm, as well as payment of compensation in excess of compensation for harm, may be assigned to the head or legal entity.

Article 1068 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

The employee caused harm due to violation of his official, official duties.

A legal entity or he himself will be responsible for the specialist. But, according to this article, the responsibility for compensation for harm lies with the legal entity.

Depending on the circumstances and violations, the requirements may be different.

They can be put forward to the employee of the medical institution, or to his head, superiors.

Administrative and criminal liability for disclosure of medical (medical) secrets in Russia

Tougher penalties are provided for by other types of liability, to which both an individual and an official who violated the requirement to maintain medical (medical) secrecy can be brought to justice.

Administrative responsibility

In accordance with articles 28.4 and 13.14 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, disclosure of information, access to which is restricted by federal laws, is punishable by penalty payment in the amount of:

  1. 500-1000 rub. - for individuals.
  2. 4000-5000 rub. - for an official.

An administrative penalty may be imposed if the violation is not a criminal offence.

Criminal liability

Consider what kind of criminal punishment can be assigned to an employee of a medical institution - or his immediate supervisor.

The crime

Punishment

Article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Illegal collection or dissemination of information about the private life of a person constituting his personal or family secret, as well as information about medical secrets, without his consent, or dissemination of this information in a public speech, publicly displayed work or mass media.

The law provides for one of the following penalties:

A fine of up to 200,000 rubles. or in the amount of the attacker's total income for 1.5 years.

Completion of mandatory work within 360 hours.

Execution of corrective works within 1 year.

Performing forced labor for 2 years. In addition, a restriction on activity can be added to this punishment - a citizen will be banned from holding certain positions or engaging in activities for 3 years.

Arrest for 4 months. They can also impose a ban on activities for 3 years.

Part 1 of Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

The above act was committed by a citizen using his official position, that is, fulfilling his labor duties.

It can:

Force to pay a fine in the amount of 100,000 - 300,000 rubles. or write off the income of the convict for 1-2 years.

Deprive the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for 2-5 years.

Oblige to perform forced labor for 4 years. They can add to this punishment a restriction on activities for 5 years.

Arrest for six months.

Imprison for 4 years, as well as impose a ban on activities for 5 years.

Part 2 of Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Information about medical secrecy concerned a minor citizen who was involved in a criminal case, or his physical, moral suffering. If the information was disclosed publicly, for example, in the media, on TV, in public speeches, and caused harm to the health of a minor, mental disorder or other serious consequences.

Citizen expects one of the punishments:

Payment of a fine in the amount of 150,000 to 350,000 rubles. or in the amount of total income for 1.5-3 years.

Restriction on activities for 3-5 years.

Performing forced labor for 5 years. A 6-year activity restriction may be added.

Arrest for six months.

Imprisonment for 5 years. They can also impose a ban on activities for 6 years.

Part 3 of Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

As you understand, disciplinary, administrative and criminal penalties can be imposed on an employee of a medical institution, but civil liability lies with the organization itself.

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    • Medical confidentiality is a legal prohibition to disclose information about a patient without his consent. It seems that everything is clear: the disclosure of medical secrets is unacceptable. Everything that the doctor heard from the patient concerns only the patient and his doctor. The protection of medical confidentiality is clearly enshrined in Article 13 of the Federal Law No. 323-FZ “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation”. But in practice, a medical worker often turns out to be a “hostage of the situation”, and many disagreements arise here. Here are just a few examples from real life.

    Everything is clear here. Yes! The patient has no barriers to obtaining information about his own health status.

    According to Article 22 of the Federal Law No. 323 “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation”, any person has the right to receive information about their state of health, including information about the results of an examination, diagnosis and prognosis of a disease, methods of treatment.

    And the Order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation dated June 29, 2016 No. 425n “On approval of the procedure for familiarizing a patient or his legal representative with medical documentation reflecting the patient’s health status” gives the right to directly familiarize with medical documentation upon a written application addressed to the head physician within one month.

    Providing information constituting a medical secret without the consent of the patient

    In practice, it is often the patient's relatives who turn to the doctor for information. This is where the concept of “medical secrecy” comes into play – maintaining secrecy about the very fact of a citizen seeking medical help, as well as any information obtained during medical examination and treatment.

    A patient with severe cirrhosis of the liver is treated in the narcological department (he used alcohol for a long time). Because now he doesn’t really understand anything, he doesn’t recognize anyone. The narcologist invites a relative of the patient, tells him the details of the disease, its causes, the expected prognosis and advises how and how to help him recover faster.

    Stop! The doctor is already violating Article 13 of Federal Law No. 323-FZ!

    People contact the 03 service by phone and clarify whether the ambulance called for such and such a person. They are told something like this: an ambulance went to this person and was hospitalized in such and such a hospital. The diagnosis is not named.

    If the employer calls and asks if such and such a person is being treated in the department. There is no such. Is the disclosure of this a provision of medical confidentiality?

    According to the law, any information about the patient is allowed to be disclosed only with his written consent.

    In both cases, the law was broken. There is a disclosure of medical confidentiality!

    Agree, it is not known who is calling and for what purpose he is interested, the search for a person is possible through the Ministry of Internal Affairs, then this should be a request from law enforcement agencies that does not violate Article 13 on Medical Secrets. In the second case, the employer has no right to request this information. Regardless of whether a person is treated or not. The document that is provided to the employer is a certificate of incapacity for work.

    Here is the standard response in such cases:

    On the basis of paragraph 9 of Art. 4 of Federal Law No. 323-FZ of November 21, 2011 “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation”, observance of medical secrecy is attributed by the legislator to the basic principles of health protection. In accordance with parts 1, 2, article 13 of Federal Law No. 323-FZ of November 21, 2011, information about the fact that a citizen applied for medical assistance, his state of health and diagnosis, and other information obtained during his medical examination and treatment, constitute medical confidentiality.

    In accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 86 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, all personal information of the employee must be obtained from him, at the request of third parties, the employee must be notified of this and give his written consent to the issuance of personal data.

    Based on the foregoing, we are forced to refuse to provide prohibited information.

    Can relatives receive information about the diagnosis after the death of a person?

    “Why did my young, perfectly healthy son die?” the heartbroken mother asked the doctor. The doctor couldn't explain anything. Her child suffered from HIV for many years, used drugs, and did not tell his parents anything. “I am bound by medical secrecy and have no right to tell you in detail,” the doctor replied.

    “Hides, so he’s definitely guilty!”, - such a conclusion was made by a relative and filed a lawsuit against the physician.

    Medical secrecy is a medical, legal and ethical concept at the same time.

    The most difficult situation becomes in the event of the patient's death, after which, according to Article 188 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the power of attorney issued by him during his lifetime is terminated. Medical secrecy is a personal non-property right that dies along with the personality.

    Therefore, the provision of medical secrecy after the death of a person is not allowed in any case.

    What to do? How to avoid conflict between doctors and relatives of patients?

    There is only one option: contact the prosecutor's office or the investigative committee!

    Relatives have the opportunity to get their hands on the medical history of a deceased patient without conflicting with doctors.

    The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation clarified that medical secrecy does not restrict access to medical records by relatives and friends. If a relative of a deceased patient doubts that his loved one was provided with high-quality medical care, then he does not need to argue with the doctors, make a fuss. The refusal of doctors is completely legitimate. But for information, you can contact the prosecutor's office. The provision of such data is allowed at her request in connection with the implementation of prosecutorial supervision.

    Inspections will be initiated, within the framework of which documentation will be requested from the medical institution. However, both during the prosecutor’s check and during the investigation, the patient’s relatives will still not be able to “look” into the medical documentation - the information contained there is not subject to disclosure.

    That is, the only opportunity to get acquainted with medical records is only in court, when using the right of the plaintiff's side, relatives can get acquainted with the case materials.

    My son has HIV infection due to long-term drug use. When he was hospitalized in an ambulance with pneumonia, I reported this to the 03 brigade, considering this information important. The next day, a neighbor who works as a paramedic at the same substation approached me and said that she was aware that my child had HIV. Why do ambulance teams share this information among themselves? I demand to punish those responsible for disclosing medical secrets.

    A secret to the whole world? Even a conversation with a patient in the presence of other patients, in the presence of medical personnel who do not take part in the treatment of the patient, is a violation of medical secrecy. The ajar door of the office in which the reception is being conducted, and at this time other people are waiting in the corridor for their turn - this is also a violation of the patient's medical confidentiality.

    A person who “distributed information” containing a medical secret is brought under article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

    The punishment ranges from 200 thousand rubles to the actual term of imprisonment and suspension from activity. In addition, the patient may file a civil claim for compensation for non-pecuniary damage.

    The burden of expenses rests with the doctor, since, according to the law, it is the one who divulged the medical medical secret that must reimburse the expenses.

    Who can respond to requests for disclosure of information constituting medical confidentiality

    Often narcology receives requests from the bodies of inquiry formed in the service of bailiffs. Inquiries come from the bailiff service regarding patients who are debtors by a civil court decision. The bailiffs want to know if this person is registered, whether he applied for medical help, whether he underwent an examination.

    According to the Law, the provision of such information without the consent of a citizen or his legal representative is allowed upon request.

    • bodies of inquiry and investigation,
    • court,
    • prosecutors
    • and penitentiary system.

    It should be remembered that we are talking about providing information only as part of an investigation or verification of a criminal case.

    Note! This list does not include a civil bailiff system that works to collect debts.

    But the bailiff, who was refused, begins to threaten doctors with criminal prosecution for obstructing performing activities on the basis of 229-FZ “On the Executive System”. However, this law regulates the activities of bailiffs, and it has nothing to do with medical activities!

    The laws for a medical organization are the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and 323-FZ, which prohibits disclosing even the fact of visiting a clinic without the consent of the patient.

    Often, bailiffs refer to Article 6 of the Federal Law "On Enforcement Proceedings" as the obligation to fulfill their requirements. But these requirements must also be legal - they cannot violate either their own legislation or any other special one.

    The lawyer made a request to obtain information whether the husband of his client is registered with the narcologist. A week later, the medical organization issued a response in which it refused to provide this information. As a result, the head physician was brought to administrative responsibility under Article 5.39 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for ignoring a lawyer's request (a fine of 5,000 to 10,000 rubles). It is right?

    It is important to separate the concepts of ignoring and refusing to provide information. If the lawyer has the appropriate authority, then the answer must be given within 30 days. The hospital must send a response with a refusal to disclose medical confidentiality within the same 30 days.

    The article on medical secrecy does not include the disclosure of a secret to a lawyer, that is, one lawyer's status is not enough for this. Familiarization, as well as obtaining copies of the patient's medical records, is possible only on the basis of a power of attorney from the patient himself. Most importantly, a lawyer has the right to make a request only in relation to his principals, but not in relation to third parties.

    The patient turned to television, told how badly he was treated, incorrectly diagnosed. That is, he himself revealed the medical secret to journalists. Television workers came to the hospital and asked to comment on the situation. What to do?

    For now, be silent! No one removes the obligation to keep medical secrets from the clinic. Even if the patient has already told everything about himself, the hospital should not rush to either confirm or deny these facts at the request of the media until it receives written consent to the removal of medical secrecy from this patient.

    Yes, there are too many contradictions and "holes" in this issue. Personally, I can’t answer myself why the whole country is so vigorously discussing the diagnoses of Boris Moiseev, Zhanna Friske, Iosif Kobzon, on TV talk shows they tell who is HIV-infected, who has cancer, and no medical medical secret for you! But when a mother's child dies, then you have non-disclosure of medical secrets! What do you think about it?

    Everyone has the right to hide information about contacting a medical facility and their health.

    But sometimes doctors grossly violate this rule. What threatens a doctor for disclosing a patient's secret? In what case does a hospital or polyclinic employee have the right to publish this data, and when it would be a violation of the law - read on.

    Medical secrecy is understood as data about a person seeking professional help, about his state of health, diagnosis and any other information received by doctors during the examination and treatment of a patient.

    Its preservation is one of the principles of protecting the health of Russians, along with:

    • observance of rights and provision of state guarantees;
    • the priority of the patient's interests;
    • social security in case of health problems;
    • the responsibility of authorities, medical organizations and individual workers for ensuring such rights;
    • availability and quality of medical care;
    • inadmissibility;
    • prevention priority.

    Medical confidentiality is your right to privacy about your health.

    What is medical confidentiality?

    It includes:

    • the very fact of asking for help;
    • results of analyzes and studies;
    • diagnosis;
    • the fact of undergoing treatment, registration and observation;
    • information about the mental state of the citizen;
    • information about the fact of adoption or adoption of a child.

    Can I get health information?

    Each patient has the right to request and receive information about their health status, the success of treatment, the results of tests and examinations, the prognosis of the development of the disease, the risks of intervention, etc.

    Information to the patient is provided by his attending physician or other medical worker who was directly involved in the treatment.

    In some cases, the data is immediately reported to the legal representatives of the patient. This applies to minors and disabled citizens.

    If you do not want to know why you are sick, the doctor has no right to force you to tell you about the state of health.

    In case of an unfavorable prognosis or a serious illness, the doctor may disclose information to your spouse, one of your close relatives (children, grandparents, grandchildren), if you have not forbidden to tell them about it.

    You can also obtain the necessary medical documents and consult with other specialists. You just need to make a written request.

    When is it possible to disclose medical confidentiality?

    It is forbidden to publish data about the patient's health even after his death. The ban is established for persons who became aware of the information during training, performance of labor and other duties.

    Disclosure of medical secrets is impossible without the consent of the patient or his representative.

    However, there are exceptions. Consider when the disclosure of information constituting a medical secret is permissible.

    With the consent of the patient

    Officials have the right, with your consent, to disclose data for the purposes of medical examination, treatment, prescribing drugs, conducting research, publishing them in publications, etc. In this case, they will not face criminal liability.

    For the disclosure of information about the patient's health, his written consent is required.

    The permit must contain:

    • Full name, address, passport data;
    • FULL NAME. and data of the person to whom access to personal information is granted;
    • purpose of information disclosure;
    • a list of information to be disclosed;
    • actions that an official can take with this information;
    • the period during which the permit is valid;
    • revocation order.

    Along with this paper, you can draw up a medical confidentiality waiver.

    without patient consent

    The doctor may disseminate information without your consent in the following cases:

    • if you are unconscious and need urgent medical attention;
    • there is a threat of the spread of dangerous infectious diseases, other lesions;
    • a request was received from the court or the police, the investigating authorities;
    • treatment, diagnosis, rehabilitation and preventive measures have been assigned to you by the court;
    • if you have injuries that indicate a crime. In this case, doctors are required to notify law enforcement officers;
    • for the purpose of conducting a military medical examination at the request of military commissariats, personnel services, etc.;
    • it is necessary to investigate an accident at work, an accident in an educational organization, during sports training, participation in competitions;
    • exchange of information between medical institutions is necessary to provide you with qualified assistance.

    Also, the disclosure of medical secrets without the consent of the patient is possible if accounting and control is carried out in the system of compulsory social insurance, quality and safety control of the medical services provided.

    Sometimes the patient's permission is not needed to release data.

    Responsibility for disclosure of medical confidentiality

    The preservation of medical secrecy is an issue that falls not only under ethical, but also under legal norms. All medical staff are required to keep this information:

    • Therapist;
    • orderlies;
    • registry staff;
    • interns and trainees;
    • pharmacists;
    • hospital officials, etc.

    Dissemination of such information may result in liability under the law.

    For the disclosure of medical secrets, disciplinary, civil, administrative and criminal liability is established.

    Disciplinary

    A delinquent employee is threatened with reprimand and even dismissal. Since the disclosure of medical confidentiality without the consent of the patient is a rather serious crime, this punishment is not applied in itself and is usually coupled with more severe sanctions.

    civil

    Such liability implies compensation for non-pecuniary damage. You can recover it through the court, proving that moral suffering has been caused to you.

    Administrative

    It is established in Art. 13.14 Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.

    The sanction is applied for disclosure of information, access to which is restricted by law, in the performance of official or professional duties by an official. The guilty person faces a fine of up to 1 thousand rubles. - for individuals, up to 5000 rubles. - for officials.

    Criminal

    If the inviolability of your private life has been violated by a doctor, then he will be held liable under Part 2 of Art. 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

    For divulging medical secrets, he is threatened with:

    • fine up to 300 thousand rubles. (or confiscation of earnings for 2 years);
    • forced labor for up to 4 years with a ban on holding certain positions for up to 5 years;
    • arrest for six months;
    • a prison term of up to 4 years with a ban on practicing medicine for up to 5 years.

    If the doctor has significantly exceeded his authority and divulged information about your state of health, he will be punished by.

    A “presumptuous” health worker may suffer the following punishment:

    • fine up to 80 thousand rubles. (or confiscation of income received for six months);
    • a ban on medical practice for up to 5 years;
    • forced labor up to 4 years;
    • arrest up to six months;
    • imprisonment up to 4 years.

    If a doctor is tried under a criminal article for disclosing medical secrets, he can be imprisoned for 4 years.

    How to prove a crime and punish a doctor?

    Unfortunately, reporting patient information is a fairly common practice. Even strict criminal liability often does not stop physicians.

    The most frequent events are the disclosure of data on the course of treatment, diagnosis to the patient's visitors. Those who come are not even asked for documents confirming kinship.

    Another way is to disseminate information by telephone, for example, when calling the hospital registry.

    Serious damage to the patient can also cause the disclosure of data through social networks and the media. Such publications, in some cases, are accompanied by photos and videos that directly indicate the identity of the patient.

    In addition, the source of information about the disease is medical documentation, including an outpatient card, medical history, and a temporary disability certificate.

    In the disability certificate, you can indicate the diagnosis only with your consent.

    To punish a doctor for such unethical actions, you need to show evidence of his guilt. Collecting them is sometimes very difficult.

    It is necessary to provide the court with written evidence and testimonies, documents (for example, a certificate of incapacity for work indicating the diagnosis and a paper stating that you do not consent to the dissemination of information about the disease).

    Accusations against a physician must be substantiated, otherwise you risk being in the dock for defamation.

    Compensation for disclosure

    If you find yourself in such a situation, then you have the right to seek compensation for non-pecuniary damage. Only the court can appoint it. The size and terms of payment are also determined by the judge.

    For that, you need to file a claim. It should indicate what kind of moral suffering you were caused, if possible, confirm them with the conclusion of a specialist, and also indicate a specific amount.

    Compensation will be awarded taking into account fairness and reasonableness in terms of the law.

    It is difficult to say what exactly threatens the violator for disclosing medical secrets in each specific case. The extent of liability is determined by the court.

    Medical confidentiality is a multifaceted ethical and legal concept. The concept of medical confidentiality and the conditions for its disclosure are enshrined in the Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on the Protection of Citizens' Health (hereinafter referred to as the Fundamentals).

    Article 61 of the Fundamentals states that medical secrecy is information about the fact of applying for medical care, the state of health of a citizen, the diagnosis of his disease and other information obtained during his examination and treatment.

    The Fundamentals provide that the disclosure of medical confidentiality can occur both with the consent of the patient, and without it. With the consent of a citizen or his legal representative, it is allowed to transfer information constituting a medical secret to other citizens, incl. officials, in the interests of examining and treating a patient, for conducting scientific research, publishing in scientific literature, using this information in the educational process and for other purposes. In this case, remember the following:

    1. The fact of the consent of the patient or his legal representative should be documented in writing to avoid misunderstanding and to ensure the legal security of the medical organization, assuring this with the signature of the patient.

    2. It is necessary to clearly remember who can be a legal representative. Legal representatives appear only for citizens who are incompetent or do not have full legal capacity. They may be parents, adoptive parents, guardians, trustees or other persons to whom this right is granted by law. Before you carry out the will of the legal representative of the patient, you should make sure of the authority of this person.

    Disclosure of medical confidentiality without the consent of the patient or his legal representative is allowed in the following cases:

    1) for the purpose of examination and treatment of a citizen who, due to his condition, is unable to express his will;

    2) when there is a threat of the spread of infectious diseases, mass poisoning and injury;

    3) at the request of the bodies of inquiry and investigation, the prosecutor and the court in connection with the conduct of an investigation or judicial proceedings;

    4) in the case of providing assistance to a minor under the age of 15 (for drug addicts - up to 16 years) and to inform his parents or legal representatives;

    5) if there are grounds for believing that harm to the health of a citizen was caused as a result of unlawful actions;

    6) for the purpose of conducting a military medical examination in accordance with the procedure established by the regulation on military medical examination.

    The confidentiality of information constituting a medical secret is also enshrined in the Family Code of the Russian Federation: “the results of an examination of a person entering into marriage constitute a medical secret and can be communicated to the person with whom he intends to marry only with the consent of the person who has passed the examination” (p. 2 verse 15).

    The legal norms on the preservation of medical secrecy are detailed in the Federal Law of July 27, 2006 No. 152-FZ “On Personal Data” (hereinafter referred to as the Law).

    The law states that its purpose is to ensure the protection of the rights and freedoms of a person and citizen in the processing of his personal data, including the protection of the rights to privacy, personal and family secrets.

    The law identifies special categories of personal data, which include, among other things, information about the state of health of a citizen.

    The processing of special categories of personal data is allowed only in cases specified by law, including the following:

    1) the subject of personal data has given his consent in writing to the processing of his personal data;

    2) personal data are publicly available;

    3) personal data relate to the state of health of the subject of personal data and their processing is necessary to protect his life, health or other vital interests or the life, health or other vital interests of other persons, and obtaining the consent of the subject of personal data is impossible;

    4) the processing of personal data is carried out for medical and preventive purposes, in order to establish a medical diagnosis, provide medical and medical and social services, provided that the processing of personal data is carried out by a person professionally engaged in medical activities and is obliged, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, to maintain medical secrecy .

    According to Art. 9 of the law, the obligation to provide proof of obtaining the consent of the subject of personal data to the processing of his personal data, and in the case of processing publicly available personal data, the obligation to prove that the processed personal data is publicly available rests with the operator, i.e. to the one who processes personal data.

    The written consent of the subject of personal data to the processing of their personal data must include:

    1) last name, first name, patronymic, address of the subject of personal data, number of the main document proving his identity, information about the date of issue of the specified document and the body that issued it;

    2) name (last name, first name, patronymic) and address of the operator receiving the consent of the subject of personal data;

    3) the purpose of processing personal data;

    4) a list of personal data, for the processing of which the consent of the subject of personal data is given;

    5) a list of actions with personal data to which consent is given, a general description of the methods used by the operator for processing personal data;

    6) the period during which the consent is valid, as well as the procedure for its withdrawal.

    In accordance with Art. 19 of the law, the operator, when processing personal data, is obliged to take the necessary organizational and technical measures to protect personal data from unauthorized or accidental access to them, destruction, modification, blocking, copying, distribution of personal data, as well as from other illegal actions.

    It is necessary to determine the circle of persons who are required to keep medical secrets.

    Firstly, the carrier, and accordingly, the keeper of medical secrets is any doctor by definition, because according to Art. 60 Fundamentals, persons who graduated from higher medical educational institutions of the Russian Federation, when receiving a doctor's diploma, take an oath of a doctor. At the same time, doctors swear to "keep medical secrecy."

    However, the law does not limit the list of keepers of medical secrets only to doctors, imposing the obligation to store information constituting medical secrets also on persons to whom they became known during training, the performance of professional, official and other duties (Article 61 of the Fundamentals). Thus, a potential custodian of a patient's secret is any person who, to one degree or another, has received information about the patient.

    It should also be remembered that in addition to the employees of the medical institution to which the patient applied, other persons who were admitted to information containing medical secrets by virtue of their official duties may also become keepers of medical secrets. These may be employees of state bodies (health authorities, law enforcement agencies), medical insurance organizations. They, as well as medical workers, taking into account the damage caused to the citizen, are responsible for the disclosure of medical confidentiality established by law.

    The law establishes criminal, administrative, disciplinary and civil liability for disclosure of medical confidentiality.

    Let's start with criminal liability.

    Until January 1, 1997, the Criminal Code of the RSFSR was in force on the territory of Russia, in which Article 128.1 was introduced in December 1994, providing for criminal liability for disclosure of information constituting a medical secret. It provided for criminal liability up to imprisonment for up to 2 years.

    However, when adopting the new Criminal Code, the legislator combined this crime with other illegal actions, as a result of which he provided for criminal liability for the disclosure of medical secrets in Article 137 “Violation of privacy”. Thus, according to part 1 of this article, illegal actions are “illegal collection or dissemination of information about the private life of a person that constitutes his personal or family secret, without his consent, or dissemination of this information in a public speech, publicly displayed work or mass media.” In our case, part 2 will most often be applied, which provides for criminal liability for “the same acts committed by a person using his official position” and provides for the following sanctions: a fine in the amount of 100 thousand to 300 thousand rubles, or in the amount salary, or other income of the convicted person for a period of 1 to 2 years, or deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of 2 to 5 years, or arrest for a period of 4 to 6 months, or deprivation of liberty for a period of 1 to 4 years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to 5 years.

    Thus, by providing for punishment in the form of deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities, the legislator speaks of the professional unsuitability of the employee who disclosed personal information, and in our case, the patient's medical secret.

    A milder form of liability is administrative liability, which is provided for in Article 13.14. Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Violations "Disclosure of Information with Restricted Access".

    Here, too, the legislator equates responsibility for the disclosure of medical confidentiality to the disclosure of classified information in general. Disclosure of information, access to which is restricted by federal law (except in cases where disclosure of such information entails criminal liability), by a person who has gained access to such information in connection with the performance of official or professional duties, shall entail the imposition of an administrative fine on citizens in the amount of 500 to 1 thousand rubles, for officials - from 4 thousand to 5 thousand rubles.

    There is also disciplinary responsibility of medical workers for violations committed by them, incl. and in terms of disclosure of medical confidentiality.

    It is provided for by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Article 192) and provides for 3 types of penalties imposed on employees for committing a disciplinary offense, i.e. failure to perform or improper performance due to the fault of the employee of the labor duties assigned to him: remark, reprimand and dismissal on appropriate grounds.

    However, bringing to any of the above types of liability does not relieve the perpetrator of the obligation to compensate the victim for the harm caused.

    It's about civil liability.

    In civil law, the concept of medical secrecy is included in the concept of personal secrecy.

    According to Art. 150 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, life and health, personal dignity, privacy, personal and family secrets, other personal non-property rights and other intangible benefits that belong to a citizen from birth or by virtue of law are inalienable and non-transferable in any other way.

    According to Art. 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, if a citizen has suffered moral harm (physical or moral suffering) by actions that violate his personal non-property rights or encroach on other non-material benefits belonging to the citizen, the court may impose on the violator the obligation of monetary compensation for the specified harm.

    In this case, it should be remembered that according to Art. 1068 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a legal entity compensates for the harm caused by its employee in the performance of labor (official, official) duties, i.e. monetary compensation to the patient will be paid not personally by the tortfeasor, but by the organization in which he works.

    Thus, the responsibility for violation of medical confidentiality lies both directly with the person who committed such a violation (disciplinary, administrative or criminal liability), and the medical institution itself (civil liability).

    In view of the foregoing, it must be emphasized that the heads of medical institutions should remember the need to preserve medical secrecy and the grounds that give the legal right to disclose it, as well as bring this information to the attention of all employees subordinate to them, from medical specialists to registrars, because . maintaining medical secrecy is a legal obligation and a moral duty of every employee of a medical institution.

    E.I. Mukhitova,

    legal consultant