Дужност чувања медицинске тајне
The Duty of Keeping a Medical Secret

Summary/Abstract: The duty of keeping a medical secret originates from ancient times. It arose out of the very relationship between the physician and his patient because the medical profession is, in effect, an ars muta. Right until the XVIII century, keeping a medical secret was exclusively seen to be the physician's moral obligation towards his patient. And then, in the XIX century, it was transformed into a legal obligation and was protected by penal sanctions. However, the duty of keeping a medical secret is not absolute because the Criminal Code prescribes that only the ,,unauthorized‘‘ revelation of a professional secret is punishable. Accordingly, he ,,who reveals a secret in the general interest or in the interest of another that carries greater weight than the interest of keeping the secret‘‘ shall not be punished. Bearing that in mind, the following reasons are said to justify the revelation of a medical secret: 1) the consent of the authorized person; 2) the presumed consent of the authorized person; 3) a state of the utmost need; and 4) the defense of the physician's own justified interests. In this paper, all of these reasons are dealt with separately. In the conclusion, it is stated that the notion of the medical secret, like any other form of professional secret, is broadly interpreted today. The range of protection of the medical secret is not determined exclusively according to special legal norms but according to the scope of the general rights of the individual. On the other hand, the duty of keeping a medical secret has become less strict with the general development of the medical profession itself, in society. As social insurance becomes more widespread and with a more complete division of labour in medicine, there is a greater risk to the private sphere of the patient.

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