There are three types of confidentiality:
             1. A person is obliged to keep information about another person in confidence if that information could hurt that person in any way. We are obliged to keep knowledge of a co-worker being in the hospital from others at work since this may cause him unnecessary embarrassment. This does not hold true if we have knowledge that a person with AIDS plans to donate blood, despite discouragement. We have an obligation to notify the Red Cross to prevent harm to recipients of the blood.
             2. One is obliged to keep a "secret" if he has promised to keep the information secret. Once again, if a person informs us that he intends to kill someone, we are justified in revealing that information.
             3. In professional scenarios, not only does a breach of confidentiality hurt individuals--it hurts the profession. The patient's bill of rights (1999) explicitly protects patients from disclosure of their medical information.
             Obviously there are instances when sharing information is necessary, such as in medical consults. However, the patient should be informed and permission should be obtained. Other instances when patient confidentiality can be shared include proportionate risks such as informing a wife that her husband has HIV. Conditions regarding proportionate risk include:
             · an identifiable third party at risk
             · belief that the risk is significant
             · belief that the third party does not know he is at risk
             · the patient being treated refuses to tell the third party
             · the treated patient is notified and there is a written record (1)
             Court-imposed exceptions or proper statutory exceptions also exist (5).
             Truth telling derives from the principle of autonomy. Patients have a right to be informed of the truth of their situation, diagnosis, treatment, hazards, uncertainties and prognosis (6" . Obviously, informed consent requi
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