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Insurance Company Access to Records — SCE Palliative Medicine MCQ

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HardCommunication & EthicsInsurance Company Access to RecordsSCE Palliative Medicine

An insurer asks a hospice consultant for a full record to assess a policy claim. The capacitous patient has not authorised disclosure. What should happen?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: A — Withhold it unless valid consent or another lawful basis exists

Explanation lettering: E = shown as C · C = shown as E

A is correct. Insurance assessment is not direct care: disclosure normally requires explicit informed authority and should be limited to relevant information, subject to any specific lawful requirement. B invents shared-care status, C cannot replace a lawful basis and professional confidentiality, D assigns the GMC a role it does not have, and E removes protections precisely where sensitivity is high.

Reference: GMC: confidentiality: https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/professional-standards-for-doctors/confidentiality