Interdisciplinary Education for Physician's Confidentiality by Interdisciplinary Collaboration of Medical and Law Researchers

Confidentiality is a fundamental duty of a physician to maintain a safe medical system. The authors are law researchers and medical researchers. We planned interdisciplinary workshops including both legal and medical viewpoints. Encouraging medical students to understand the importance of confidentiality and its exceptions, we studied others’ academic fields together over eight years, and established a fixed style of scenario-based group discussions. As a unique characteristic of this project, it includes actual students of law and other fields as facilitators to encourage mobility and circulation among disciplines. The workshop has continued since 2009, once a year. Results of student evaluations show their enhanced understanding of confidentiality as a core value of safety and sustainable medical systems. Other teaching purposes have mostly succeeded. Facilitators regard this workshop as a good opportunity to explore interdisciplinary studies as well. That interest maintains and reinforces the close relationship between these disciplines of study. Therefore, the authors conclude that this innovative workshop is very effective.