A new legislative amendment by the Health Ministry will allow healthcare professionals to share essential medical information in cases where there is a real concern of future harm to the patient or to another person.
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to grant healthcare providers the authority to pass information to the relevant bodies, using discretion and balancing the value of privacy with the need to protect life and physical safety, in situations that are currently prohibited due to medical confidentiality or which are legally ambiguous.
Health Ministry professionals drafted the proposal in a way that aims to balance reporting needs with the preservation of medical confidentiality. The need to regulate this issue arose partly from recommendations by various inter-ministerial committees that examined how to address violence in families and violence between partners.
On Monday, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation today approved Health Minister Haim Katz’s proposal to amend the law to allow healthcare professionals to share essential medical information when there is a concrete concern of future harm to the patient or another person.
Under the proposed amendment, necessary medical information aimed at preventing imminent harm may be transferred to the police and social services departments, and when needed, also to government bodies responsible for preventing domestic violence, including the inter-ministerial committee for reviewing family homicide cases.
The proposal arose from various situations in which therapists and medical professionals encounter information indicating future danger posed by a patient to themselves or to others but are prevented from reporting it due to medical confidentiality under the Patient Rights Law. Although current law mandates reporting under the Penal Code, it applies only to crimes that have already occurred and only regarding minors or vulnerable individuals, leaving future-risk scenarios unaddressed.
Health Minister Haim Katz explained, “The amendment we are advancing gives healthcare professionals the tools to act in real time when they identify tangible danger to others, and help combat domestic violence. At the same time, we maintain balance - information is shared only when necessary, while protecting privacy and medical confidentiality. This is a step that strengthens public safety without harming people's fundamental rights.”