Do you know who was here this morning?" the pharmacist phoned his wife" Your cousin, Hessa. I filled a prescription for her for *Puregon®. I just figured out why they do not have children yet after 5 years of marriage.

The Bridge Comment:

Pharmaceutical care practitioners deal with patient- specific information that is personal and sensitive, therefore patient confidentiality and privacy must be maintained at all times. This includes all written documents and records, as well as verbal discussions, which must be held in the strictest of confidence.
Patients trust practitioners, they are expecting their personal information to be restricted to those directly involved in their care. This includes the prohibition of practitioners from discussing individual patient cases with friends, family members, or any other clinicians or lay individual without the informed consent of the patient. It would be considered unethical to discuss or disclose personal health- related information about your patient with one of your friends or family members who is not health care provider and who is not involved in the care of the patient (1).

Being proficient and knowledgeable in one's field is not enough. The practitioner should be considerate and compassionate, and should maintain absolute confidentiality of the person(s) or family involved. The Prophet Mohammed (r) said: "Whoever guards the secrets of a Muslim, God will guard their secret in this life and on resurrection day"
(narrated by Muslim) (2).

In health care practice confidentiality is not an absolute, it has two exceptions, this will be tackled soon in The Bridge, be with us at that time.

*Puregon®: recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).
   Puregon® is indicated for the treatment of female infertility
   in the following clinical situations

• Anovulation (including polycystic ovarian disease, PCOD) in
   women who have been unresponsive to treatment with
   clomiphene citrate.

• Controlled ovarian (hyper)stimulation to induce the
   development of multiple follicles in medically assisted 
   reproduction programs [e.g. in vitro fertilization / embryo
   transfer (IVF/ET), gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT) and
   intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)].

Manal Zaidan, BSc (Pharm), Clinical Pharmacist, Al-Amal Cancer Center- Hamad Medical Corporation. Doha, Qatar.