Doctors warned over celebrity patients

That is the advice from the Medical Defence Union(MDU), who said confidentiality can easily be breached if a patient is in the public eye because the media.

With the Duchess of Cambridge due to give birth to the newest member of the Royal Family, the MDU said doctors treating celebrity patients are being advised to be on their guard to ensure confidential medical information doesn't leak out.

The MDUsaid journalists occasionally employ covert tactics to gain information and with the proliferation of smart phones and social media.

In the latest edition of Wardround, the MDU's journal for hospital doctors, Dr Sally Old, MDU medico-legal adviser explains:

"When a high profile person is admitted to hospital or is known to be receiving medical treatment, it is perhaps inevitable that the public wants to know the details.

“However, doctors' have an ethical duty to ensure that a patient's private information is protected, and can usually only release information with the patient's permission.

“Cases such as the Australian DJs who tried to get information about the Duchess of Cambridge through a prank call, show the lengths to which some journalists will go to get information.

“The ongoing speculation in the media about the health of Nelson Mandela and the treatment he is receiving is a more recent example of the difficulties medical teams treating high profile patients can encounter. If possible, it is important to ask patients who information can be shared with and in what circumstances."

The MDUrecommends doctors have systems in place to ensure people purporting to be family members and requesting information are accurately identified.

Computerised medical records should protected from unauthorised access.

Doctors should also be wary of discussing confidential information in public places where they might be overheard and shouldn't discuss confidential information with their friends or family either in person, or via social media.