Doctor-Patient Confidentiality Does Trump Class Actions

Doctor-patient confidentiality is a well-protected right, with an individual’s medical history, ongoing treatments, and current health considered private information not to be divulged without good reason. It’s also protected by law. A recent ruling by the Court of Appeal in British Columbia, Canada, has further guaranteed this after a class action lawsuit sought access to third party patient information.

Giving access to patient information via third party doctors for the sake of a class action would walk a dangerous line between privacy and justice.

The case in question, a class action brought against Dermatech, Intradermal Distribution Inc., saw members seeking compensation after an anti-wrinkle product, Dermalive, produced granulomas in affected areas. As part of the lawsuit, plaintiffs sought to provide notice of certification to class members by direct mail – a requirement under Canadian law. It is at this point that the plaintiffs requested access to the names and addresses of individuals who had received Dermalive treatment. The request was made to doctors across Canada.

Physicians appealed the order to the Court of Appeal, who determined on May 27, 2013 that the order was a violation of confidentiality laws.

This was the right decision.

Although the nature of the information requested – names and contact details – was not in fact a matter of medical records, giving access to patient information via third party doctors for the sake of a class action would walk a dangerous line between privacy and justice. In delivering the court’s judgment, Judge Saunders noted that the fact the information was more mundane, and related to a strictly cosmetic procedure, did not negate the problems of sharing patient details for a non-essential purpose. In many ways, the initial approval to seek the information placed procedure above confidentiality, and threatened to set a precedent. This was not a malicious request, consciously seeking protected information; rather, it seems to have been viewed as a workable way to collect details. Still, the Court of Appeal’s involvement and its ultimate defense of patients’ rights even in cases where information is almost entirely unrelated to medical issues, prevents any loopholes in confidentiality being exposed.

The initial class action is Logan v. Dermatech, Intradermal Distribution Inc., 2011 BCSC 1097.