The Right to Confidentiality of Patient Medical Images in Iranian (Islamic) and Western Law

Abstract

The use of images taken by the physician during the treatment and care of the patient can endanger the patient's privacy and image rights and lead to the disclosure of the patient's identity. The right to confidentiality of the patient's image therapy in the legal sphere is included in the category of the right to personality and in the realm of Islamic law is in the category of the sin against mankind. On the other hand, these images provide a unique opportunity for physicians in education and research. Given that based on the rights of persons to their image, no one can take a photo or video without the consent of a person, today, some domestic legal systems have provided the conditions for proper use of patient images to protect patients' rights and prevent possible disputes between physician and patient. Non-disclosure of patient identity, informed consent, and safe maintenance are the three main conditions in using patient images. Due to the necessity of finding the right to privacy of patient medical images, the present study, through a descriptive-analytic method, aims to achieve the principles and criteria of protection of this right for legislation in Iran by reviewing and analyzing the results of scientific theories and legal approaches of international centers such as the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and the Canadian Medical Protective Association has considered and western countries such as Australia, England, and Canada.

Keywords

• image rights
• informed consent
• privacy
• confidentiality
• medical images