Professional Secrecy and Privacy

A general practitioner is bound by professional secrecy. A gp may only provide information about a patient if the patient has given written consent.

In the Netherlands, professional secrecy for doctors is regulated in Art. 457 of Book 7 of the Civil Codes in Art. 88 of the law on the professions in the individual health care (Big Act). Furthermore, violation of professional secrecy is punishable (Art. 272 Penal Code). It is not an absolute right, because it can be broken by the courts on the basis of serious social interests.