Doctor Investigated for Sharing Private Photos of Patient!
Source:OT-Team(S,J), 极目新闻,Paper.cn
Image for reference only.
The incident also sparked a lot of discussion about ethics and professional norms on social medias. The doctor, surnamed Jiang, was said to be born in 1995 and joined the the First People's Hospital in Kunshan in 2021 after receiving his Master degree, according to some reports.
Staff from local health commission responded that, the matter has been under investigation. As for whether to announce the final disposition results to public later, it may be decided after communicating with the patient.
The netizen with account name “Momo”(pseudonym), who first noticed the post on January 28 and reported, told the medias that, she was shocked to see the post: “The doctor shared photos of his working environment in the hospital, also his own photo from life. But a patient was in the work photo, and her lower body can be clearly seen, and it is not sure whether she was getting an operation or examination.”
From the screenshot made by Momo, some users commented on that post as well. When being asked whether he’s a Genito-urologist, the doctor told that he’s a gynecologist. And by checking other posts of the doctor, Momo found out that he worked in the First People's Hospital in Kunshan (Youyi Branch).
“I contacted the hospital on the same day, hoping that they could investigate the incident. My phone number was given to the doctor, and he called me asking whether I was the patient in his photo. He also mentioned that, he was asked to remove his posts and cancel the social media account according to the requirement of hospital.
Momo also reported to local health commission and government service Hotline 12345, and later she got to know that the doctor was suspended from work.
In January 2022, a male doctor in Rizhao (Shandong Province) made a live broadcast about the gynecological surgery, and he was criminally detained, with his medical practitioner's qualification certificate revoked. He was also dismissed in accordance with laws and regulations.
According to the provisions of China's "Law for Licensed Physicians", if the patient's privacy is disclosed and serious consequences are caused, the practice certificates of relevant doctors shall be revoked.
In addition, according to Article 42 of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law, those who engage in acts of voyeurism, secretly photographing, eavesdropping or disseminating other people's privacy shall also be detained for up to five days or fined up to 500 yuan; where the circumstances are more serious, they shall be detained for not less than 5 days but not more than 10 days, and may also be fined not more than 500 yuan.
As for whether the doctor is suspected of a criminal offense, it depends on whether the patient's identity information was mentioned in his photos/posts. If yes, it is suspected of infringing on citizens' personal information.
Article 253-1 of the Criminal Law stipulates that whoever sells or provides citizens' personal information to others in violation of relevant State regulations and the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and shall be fined concurrently or alone; If the circumstances are particularly serious, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than seven years, and shall also be fined. Whoever violates relevant state provisions by selling or providing to others citizens' personal information obtained in the course of performing duties or providing services shall be given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.