Confidentiality of Doctors Handling Patients in Hazardous Communicable Disease Programs, Jambi City
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37680/almanhaj.v8i1.8574Keywords:
Confidentiality of Doctor's Office; Hazardous Communicable Diseases; Community Health Centers of Jambi CityAbstract
This study examines the implementation of doctors' professional confidentiality in the care of patients with hazardous communicable diseases at Community Health Centers in Jambi City. It focuses on the legal and ethical tension between mandatory disease reporting and patient privacy. The research employs a non-doctrinal legal research design with a qualitative approach. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with doctors and infectious disease officers, field observations, and analysis of relevant health laws, regulations, and professional codes of ethics. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. The findings show that confidentiality is generally maintained in accordance with health legislation and medical ethical standards through restricted access to patient information, separation of sensitive data, and controlled use of electronic medical records. However, three major challenges were identified: pressure to disclose patient identities, patient reluctance to cooperate due to stigma and fear of discrimination, and vulnerabilities in digital data management systems. These conditions place doctors in a dilemma between maintaining confidentiality and fulfilling public health reporting obligations. The study concludes that effective protection of medical confidentiality requires ethical commitment, clear operational procedures, and stronger data security measures to protect patient rights while supporting communicable disease control.
References
Agustin, N., Prasetyo, E., & Rahmawati, D. (2020). Medical Confidentiality and Patient Privacy Protection in Health Services. Journal of Health Law and Ethics, 5(2), 145–158.
Annas, G. J. (2003). Public Health and Human Rights in Practice. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 28(2--3), 233–253.
Bahri, S., Handayani, R., & Putri, A. (2022). Strengthening Medical Ethics Education to Prevent Violations of Medical Secrecy in Health Services. Jurnal Etika Kedokteran Indonesia, 6(1), 33–44.
Beauchamp, T. L., & Childress, J. F. (2019). Principles of Biomedical Ethics (8th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Childress, J. F., Faden, R. R., Gaare, R. D., Gostin, L. O., Kahn, J., & Bonnie, R. J. (2002). Public Health Ethics: Mapping the Terrain. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 30(2), 170–178.
Cohen, I. G., & Mello, M. M. (2019). Big Data, Big Tech, and Protecting Patient Privacy. Jama, 322(12), 1141–1142.
Courtwright, A., & Turner, A. N. (2010). Tuberculosis and Stigmatization: Pathways and Interventions. Public Health Reports, 125(Suppl 4), 34–42.
Darmawan, R. (2023). Health surveillance and Infectious Disease Reporting in Indonesia: Legal and Institutional Perspectives. Jurnal Hukum Kesehatan, 9(1), 67–81.
Epstein, R. A. (2003). In Defense of the Old Public Health: The Legal Framework for the Regulation of Public Health. Brook. L. Rev., 69, 1421.
Gostin, L. O., Wiley, L. F., & Frieden, T. R. (2019). Public Health Law: Power, Duty, Restraint. University of California Press.
Hall, M. A., Dugan, E., Zheng, B., & Mishra, A. K. (2001). Trust in Physicians and Medical Institutions. Milbank Quarterly, 79(4), 613–639.
Heywood, P., & Harahap, N. P. (2009). Health Facilities at the District Level in Indonesia. Health Policy and Planning, 24(6), 432–440.
Holijah, S., Maulana, Y., & Fitriani, T. (2023). Government Policy on Hazardous Communicable Disease Control in Indonesia. Jurnal Kebijakan Kesehatan Indonesia, 12(3), 201–214.
Indina, R. (2024). Patient Autonomy and Medical Confidentiality in Contemporary Health Services. Journal of Medical Ethics and Law, 7(1), 55–69.
Isibor, E. (2024). Regulation of Healthcare Data Security: Legal Obligations in a Digital Age. Available at SSRN 4957244.
Kass, N. E. (2001). An Ethics Framework for Public Health. American Journal of Public Health, 91(11), 1776–1782.
Kickbusch, I., & Gleicher, D. (2012). Governance for Health in the 21st Century. World Health Organization.
KUMAR, A. (2025). Public Health Law and Policy. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.
Link, B. G., & Phelan, J. C. (2001). Conceptualizing Stigma. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 363–385.
Moleong, J. A. (2003). Metode Penelitian Kualitatif. Rosdakarya.
Moleong, L. J. (1989). Metodologi Penelitian Kuantitatif. Remaja Rosda Karya.
Moleong, L. J. (2017). Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif. Remaja Rosdakarya.
Montgomery, K. (2003). How Doctors Think: Clinical Judgment and the Practice of Medicine. Oxford University Press.
Nyblade, L., Stockton, M., Giger, K., Bond, V., Ekstrand, M. L., & Lean, R. M. (2019). Stigma in Health Facilities: Why It Matters and How We Can Change It. BMC Medicine, 17(1), 1–15.
Parker, R., & Aggleton, P. (2003). HIV and AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination: A Conceptual Framework and Implications for Action. Social Science & Medicine, 57(1), 13–24.
Patria, D., Sari, M., & Nugroho, H. (2024). Mandatory Reporting of Infectious Diseases and Doctors’ Legal Responsibilities. Jurnal Hukum dan Kesehatan, 10(1), 42–56.
Pomantow, F., Lumenta, R., & Kairupan, S. (2024). Medical Confidentiality in Infectious Disease Control Programs: Ethical and Legal Challenges. Indonesian Journal of Medical Law, 8(1), 19–34.
Rahardjo, S. (2006). Ilmu Hukum. Citra Aditya Bakti.
Rahardjo, S. (2017). Ilmu Hukum dan Pendidikan Hukum: Perspektif Praktis dan Teoritis. Rajawali Pers.
Ransom, M. M., & Valladares, L. M. (2021). Public Health Law: Concepts and Case Studies. Springer Publishing Company.
Ri, K. (2018). Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia. Kementerian Kesehatan RI. Sekretariat R Jenderal. Rencana Strategis Kementerian Kesehatan Tahun Rencana Strategis Kementerian Kesehatan Tahun, 248.
Rumbold, J. M. M., & Pierscionek, B. (2017). The Effect of the General Data Protection Regulation on Medical Research. Journal of Medical Ethics, 43(7), 1–6.
Sander, W. E. (2025). Global One Health and Infectious Diseases: An Interdisciplinary Practitioner’s Guide. CRC Press.
Sugiyono. (2011). Metode Penelitian Kualitatif & Kuantitatif. Alfabeta.
Sugiyono. (2014). Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods. Alfabeta.
Sugiyono. (2021). Qualitative, Quantitative, and R&D Research Methods. Alfabeta.
Supraba, I. G., Pramesti, N., & Wardana, I. K. (2025). Internal Supervision and Accountability in Maintaining Medical Confidentiality. Jurnal Manajemen Pelayanan Kesehatan, 14(1), 73–86.
Upshur, R. E. G. (2002). Principles for the Justification of Public Health Intervention. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 93(2), 101–103.
Widodo, J. (2020). Empirical Legal Research in Health Law Studies. Jurnal Penelitian Hukum, 5(2), 95–108.
World Health Organization. (2022). Global Tuberculosis Report. World Health Organization.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ratna Sugiati, Imam Ropii, Carolina Kuntardjo

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright:
- Author retains the copyright and grants the journal the right of first publication of the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book) with the acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Author is permitted and encouraged to post his/her work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of the published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
License:
-
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
-
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.








