This book examines the ethical obligations binding a doctor to her patient's confidences and asks Should those ethical obligations be recognized in the courtroom?. Increasingly, English law has shown a responsiveness to the need to accord respect to patient confidentiality. In practice this has involved the prohibition of unauthorized disclosure of medical records in national newspapers and the provision of special protection for data stored on computer. In one area, however, the law has been unwilling to protect patient confidences - the courtroom. A patient cannot stop her doctor from...