Disclaimer

**UPDATE** 30th August 2008

My view
The views expressed in this blog represent my own opinions and not those of my employers or any of the organisations I have worked for as an independent practitioner.

Patient confidentiality
This is an area of concern for medical bloggers and an area of potential controversy in which I have no particular desire to push the boundaries. The moral and ethical arguments of free speech versus the patient’s right to confidentiality looks like a clash of prima facie ethical considerations. These are never usually pretty.

There is no doubt that patient contact is a fundamental prerequisite of a clinician’s perspective and I hope my blog reflects that. I read and enjoy a number of blogs that use patient contacts as a potent catalyst for discussion of medical issues. I feel that they make a valuable contribution to the many and varied debates surrounding healthcare and they should be nurtured where possible. Many authors reassure that those blogs take specific measures to protect the identity of their patients. I do not plan to blog about patients without obtaining their consent.

Conflicts of interest
I have no other conflicts of interest that I am currently aware of as potential issues.

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