Privacy, medical confidentiality, and health in Tanzania
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Date
2023
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Publisher
Elgar
Abstract
This chapter analysed the protection of patient confidential information and
privacy in the health sector. It considers the legal framework based on inter-
national influences by international instruments and other sources of law in
Tanzania from legislative to received laws. From the outset, the chapter finds
that the law of confidentiality and privacy in the health sector is underdevel-
oped. While Tanzania complies with the international legal position on privacy
and confidentiality, the customisation of the rules through local legislation
has been taking place slowly. There is no general law on protection of patient
confidential information only that the health practitioners are guided by a few
specific laws such as the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act, 2008,
and Human DNA Regulation Act 2009. The Codes for Conduct and Ethics for
specific health professionals such as medical professionals and dentists, nurses
and midwives, radiology and imaging professionals, pharmacists, and optom-
etry provide limited guidelines for the standards of medical confidentiality
and privacy as well as the exceptions to medical confidentiality and privacy.
Despite these setbacks, the health system is organised and prepared to deal with
emerging health challenges although crudely, while maintaining the privacy
and confidentiality of patients. For instance, the development of science and
technology has led to the enactment of laws to address issues likely to cause
difficulties in the day-to-day activities of health professionals and thus laws
such as the Human DNA Regulation Act 2009 were enacted to address such
changes. The few existing laws, albeit, in summary, set standards of privacy
and confidentiality and provide for the grounds for disclosure of confidential
information which range from statutory exceptions to disclosure due to public
interest. COVID-19 which hit the world in late 2019 made Tanzania to adopt and customize World Health Organisation COVID-19 standards and set guide-
lines for the prevention and vaccination of COVID-19.
Description
Book Chapter
Keywords
Privacy, Medical confidentiality, Health-Tanzania