PROBLEMS OF DISCLOSURE OF MEDICAL SECRETS BEFORE LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article identifies and highlights the organ-izational and legal issues of disclosure of medical se-crecy before the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine. The mechanism of formation of the array of medical information in health care institutions is established. An array of international and national regulations that define the conceptual framework and regulate procedures for disclosure of medical secrets before law enforcement agencies of Ukraine has been stud-ied. A number of scientific works of national and for-eign legal scholars on the standards of medical activ-ity in terms of legal provision of medical secrecy are analyzed. The genesis of ideas about the rights of pa-tients and the responsibilities of medical staff to col-lect, store, use and disseminate confidential infor-mation is highlighted. Cases of disclosure of confiden-tial medical information initiated by medical workers are systematized: counteraction of pandemic; in con-nection with infliction of bodily injuries to persons of a criminal nature; establishing the fact of death; elim-ination of the real threat of harm to the patient or other persons. Emphasis is placed on the disclosure of medical secrecy on the existence of competition in the importance of interests. Cases of disclosure of confi-dential medical information at the initiative of law en-forcement agencies are systematized: obtaining access to state secrets; the presence of medical contra-indications to the possession of weapons and the per-formance of related functional duties; documentation of an administrative offense; conducting a pre-trial in-vestigation of criminal offenses; carrying out opera-tive-search activities against persons who are hiding from the bodies of pre-trial investigation, court or evading serving a criminal sentence; missing persons. Based on the consideration of examples of investiga-tive and judicial practice, amendments to national regulations initiating the development of legal stand-ards of medical and law enforcement activities are proposed.
Key words: medical secrecy, request and/or re-quest of law enforcement agencies, patient infor-mation, medical information.