Abstract
This article argues for law reform in Thailand concerning the protection of health data, particularly laws involving the data’s disclosure to third parties. It has been found that several pieces of Thai legislation governing this area are conflicting, causing confusion and disquiet to Thai physicians. Recently, Parliament has enacted the Personal Data Protection Act 2019. The said GDPR-style Act should have clarified all already-existing confusion regarding the inconsistency of legislation, but it has further complicated the matter instead. Doctors cannot disclose patients’ health data to third parties, even to protect others or public interests. Court cases from other jurisdictions show that courts are willing to impose on physicians the duty to disclose patients’ health data to third parties under certain circumstances, which makes the issue more significant to the Thai legal and medical communities. The article provides proposals to rectify the issue by amending relevant statutes and calling for professional guidance on this area which should be addressed by pertinent legislation. The relevant professional guidelines alongside the amended legislation will serve the interests of medical professionals, patients, and society at large.
Highlights
Judge in the Research Justice Division, Court of Appeal, Thailand
Health data governance in Thailand is still in its infancy. Many laws govern this area of data protection, including the National Health Act, B.E. 2550 (2007), which is the primary law tasked with promoting the health and well-being of the Thai people, and the Official Information Act, B.E. 2540 (1997), which covers the collecting, processing, and disclosing of personal information held by public authorities
Both the right to privacy and the right to personal data protection are enshrined in the current Thai Constitution Section 32.14 Unlike the duty of confidentiality, personal data held by the public and private sectors are governed by several different legislative acts concerning informational privacy
Summary
Doctors in Thailand have long observed the duty of confidentiality.[1]. This duty has the same origin as its Western counterparts,[2] that is, the Hippocratic oath. What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself holding such things shameful to be spoken about.[3] This duty has been believed to forge the doctor-patient relationship, which is premised on trust. 7 Information privacy involves “the establishment of rules governing the collection and handling of personal data such as credit information, and medical and government records. [Vol 34: 128 confidentiality and informational privacy in relation to health data, should be thoroughly examined
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