ESL Podcast 662 – Doctor-Patient Confidentiality

　　Dr. Green: Can I consult you on a case of medical ethics¹?
Dr. Hause: Sure, I’m not a lawyer, but I can give you my opinion as another doctor.
Dr. Green: That’s what I’m looking for, your honest opinion. I have a patient who has a medical condition that can be spread to her family, but she doesn’t want to tell them about it. I don’t want to breach² doctor-patient confidentiality³, but I think that at least her husband should know.
Dr. Hause: That’s a tricky⁴ one. We both know that the only way we can get our patients to divulge⁵ any sensitive information is if they trust us. We can’t easily put aside that confidentiality.
Dr. Green: I know, but if she doesn’t tell her family, then they are in danger of developing serious medical problems themselves. I took the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm. How can I keep her secret and adhere to the spirit of that oath?
Dr. Hause: I see what you mean. If I were you, I’d sit my patient down and tell her what you think her responsibilities are to her family. Maybe you can convince her to tell them.
Dr. Green: I’ve tried talking to her already, and she didn’t want to listen. I’ll try again. But what if she doesn’t agree?
Dr. Hause: Then you can either drop it, tell her family, or...
Dr. Green: Or what?
Dr. Hause: Hope your patient has a miraculous⁶ recovery.
Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

2 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

3 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

4 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

5 divulge   

v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布

参考例句：

• They refused to divulge where they had hidden the money.他们拒绝说出他们把钱藏在什么地方。
• He swore never to divulge the secret.他立誓决不泄露秘密。

6 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。