Medical Ethics: Colleague Relations & Patient Confidentiality
Doctor-Colleague Relations
ARTICLE 27. It is the duty of the attending physician to provide care without charging fees to a colleague, their spouse, and first-degree relatives who are financially dependent on them. Exceptions apply when they are covered by health insurance or for psychoanalytic treatment.
ARTICLE 28. The doctor receiving care as described in the preceding article, either personally or for the mentioned relatives, must pay for inputs such as vaccines, laboratory tests, radiographic studies, casts, etc.
PARAGRAPH. The doctor may grant special rates to members of allied health professions and may provide free consultations only to the economically weak.
ARTICLE 29. Loyalty and mutual consideration are the essential basis of relationships between doctors.
ARTICLE 30. A doctor shall not disparage, verbally or otherwise, the performance of their colleagues regarding patients. This behavior is aggravated if it is directed at undermining the colleague’s position.
ARTICLE 31. Any professional disagreement between doctors will be decided by the Colombian Medical Federation in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
PARAGRAPH. The Colombian Medical Federation shall indicate the mechanism by which the Medical Colleges will address applications filed under this article.
ARTICLE 32. It is reprehensible to accept a position previously held by a colleague who was dismissed without just cause, except in cases of trust management or employment. No physician should attempt to obtain jobs or functions currently performed by a colleague.
Prescriptions, Records & Secrecy
ARTICLE 33. Prescriptions shall be made in writing, following existing regulations on the matter.
ARTICLE 34. The medical history is the mandatory record of a patient’s health conditions. It is a private, reserved document that can only be disclosed to others with prior authorization from the patient or as provided by law.
ARTICLE 35. Within the National Health System (NHS), health records shall adhere to the models implemented by the Ministry of Health.
ARTICLE 36. The clinical history must always be filled out clearly. Whenever there is a change of doctors, the departing physician is required to deliver the history, along with its attachments, to their replacement.
ARTICLE 37. (Note: The bracketed text “{except as provided by law}” was declared admissible by the Constitutional Court in Case C-264-96, June 13, 1996, concerning assumptions in Article 38 and subject to specific reservations.) Medical secrecy refers to information that is unethical or illegal to disclose without just cause. The doctor is bound to observe professional secrecy regarding everything seen, heard, or understood through the exercise of their profession, {except as provided by law}.
ARTICLE 38. Guided by prudence, the disclosure of professional secrecy may be made:
- a) To the patient, concerning matters strictly necessary for their understanding.
- b) To the patient’s family, if disclosure is beneficial to the treatment.
- c) To the person responsible for the patient, in cases involving minors or mentally incompetent individuals.
- d) To judicial or health authorities, {as provided by law}.
- e) To interested parties when incurable physical defects or contagious/hereditary illnesses endanger the life of a spouse or offspring.
ARTICLE 39. The physician shall ensure that their agents (staff, etc.) observe professional secrecy.
ARTICLE 40. Practicing physicians are prohibited from receiving commercial benefits from pharmacies, laboratories, optical shops, orthopedic facilities, or similar organizations supplying items subject to medical prescription.
ARTICLE 41. The physician should not accept or give kickbacks or commissions for patient referrals.