George Serrano has gonorrhea. He does not want to tell his wife, but does want to protect her from the disease. While undergoing treatment, he asks the family physician to test his wife without her knowing it. When the wife comes in with a bad case of bronchitis, the physician tests her, saying. "I just want to run another test on you to rule out a possibility, a mere possibility, you understand." He finds that she has been infected with gonarrhea and treats her without her knowing the diagnosis. He merely tells her, "I want you to take these antibiotics as a precaution." In this way, he protects the husband.
Answer the following (In your opinion) (think about ethics)
-Was the doctor's behavior ethical? Why or Why not?
- Does he have a duty of confidentiality to George and can that justify his concealing what he does from George's wife?
- Does he have a duty to disclose the facts of the wife's medical condition to her?
Are there any issues of informed consent in the case?