Abstract

The case of a patient with psychiatric pathology is presented who, in consultation, communicates information to the psychiatrist which reveals risk for people close to the patient. The specialist doctor refrains from revealing this information because he considers that it is his obligation not to reveal it as it is part of the professional secret that he has agreed to keep as a doctor.

The patient, in a moment of obtundation associated with his pathology, causes irreversible damage to a very close person, which could have been avoided if he had been warned of the patient's mental situation and had taken precautions when coming into contact with him.

The doctor is questioned for his actions and sanctioned by civil authorities and the ethics court.

The case is analyzed from bioethics, making clear the concept of professional secrecy in medicine, its scope and limitations. The reasons that allow professional secrecy to be revealed are stated and explained.