Place et limites du secret médical dans le cadre d'une maladie grave transmissible pouvant porter préjudice à un tiers

Grégoire Moutel (1) , Jean-Philippe Rigaud (2)

1 LEM - Laboratoire d'éthique médicale et médecine légale
2 centre hospitalier de Dieppe

Many clinical situations lead to the opportunity to care for a patient, or to discover a medical evidence may also directly affect the health of a family member (spouse, family, sexual partner). In these situations, care, medicine therefore beyond the scope of the conference singular and wondered about the place and the rights of families, especially as sometimes the doctor knows and meets physically. This question is all the more significant for the doctor when there supported early is that really improve the life of people, their quality of life. Prevention and care for others is the essence of medical practice, the doctor may be in a situation of dilemma when the secret is imposed upon him. Thus, in the field of oncology, approaches to early detection of familial cancers have a positive impact if earlier treatment can improve the survival of (breast and colon cancer, for example). It is the same metabolic diseases with a genetic component. In the context of infectious and contagious diseases, the identification of subjects at risk and screening can help prevent transmission or limit their clinical manifestations. This paper explores the issues raised by these situations.

Mots clés: ethique; secret médical; maladie familiale; cancer; génétique

Domaines: Ethique

Grégoire Moutel, Jean-Philippe Rigaud. Place et limites du secret médical dans le cadre d'une maladie grave transmissible pouvant porter préjudice à un tiers. Revue générale de droit médical, 2012, pp.189-198. ⟨hal-00766402⟩