Summary: The Importance Of Privacy

Introduction:

A concise, factual review of “privacy” indicates this concept accentuated since Hippocrates, s affidavit, first (1، 2). Afterwards, defined by Samuel Warren and Louis Brandies as “the right to be let alone” in 1890s, subsequently, evolved as “informational privacy,” defined by Allen Weston considering individual’s right to control personal information (3). Generally, privacy covers intermixed concepts, including confidentiality and security of Personal health information (4).

Patients have an expectation of appreciation of privacy and security about health information (5). Further, patient-provider reciprocal confidence form a cornerstone of medicine and privacy has the main role in this regard (2). Protecting information privacy

In addition, sociological status may be at stake (11، 12). Remarkably, serious effects may be shown as the negligence of privacy protection of health care providers resulting in partly concealment of medical history; patient reluctance to go to a physician; an increase of anxiety and aggressive behaviours (13) particularly as regards to the growing trend in digitized health data (14). Many efforts have been made in the leading countries such as Canada, Australia, and the United States in the privacy field exclusively in health information protection. Even though, the right of privacy is not determined clearly in Iran, either in the constitutional laws or the common laws, but achievable through law interpretation. Conservation of medical information during storage, process and dissemination in cyberspace has been determined merely in the Electronic Commerce law

Similarly, plentiful guidelines, policies and frameworks developed as the self-regulatory efforts, for instance; Royal Australian College of Physicians published a manual on health information management using in private practice to proper modelling best practices to revere the legal and ethical qualifications of health information privacy and confidentiality (22). These legislations governing the collection, use and disclosure of the personal health information (23). Out of these, Health Privacy Principles (HPPs), comprehensive guidelines for the proper handling of the health information, illustrated the legal, relevant, direct and open situations in which health information has been collected, stored, accessed and used. The collection, use, disclosure and the exchange of Health information performed in view of the major issues as transparency, accessibility, correctness and accuracy of health information (24).

In addition to these legislations, the European Union (EU) data protection directive 95/46 was investigated. It has been passed in 1995 owing to many data protection laws all over the EU along with the absence of pertinent laws among some members