In Russia, the grounds for disclosing medical secrets have been expanded. What you need to know

Starting from June 27, the grounds for disclosure of information constituting a medical secret will be expanded in Russia. However, this will only apply to information about those who have been convicted of pedophilia and to whom compulsory treatment measures have been applied. What is a medical secret and under what conditions it can still be disclosed — in the material of Izvestia.

What does the new law say?

• The new law, adopted in December 2024 and coming into force on June 27, 2025, expands the grounds for providing information constituting a medical secret without the consent of a citizen or his legal representative. The law "On the Basics of protecting the health of Citizens of the Russian Federation" has already listed several situations where medical secrecy may not be respected, and now another reason has been added to them.

• Disclosure of medical secrets is now allowed if a request is received from the court, the bodies of inquiry, investigation, prosecutor's office or the penal enforcement system in connection with monitoring the use of compulsory medical measures prescribed in accordance with Part 2.1 of Article 102 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Penal enforcement inspections, which are part of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN), will be able to obtain medical information.

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• In its turn, it says that the court may order a forensic psychiatric examination and apply medical measures against pedophiles who have committed crimes against the sexual integrity of minors under the age of 14, if they have been released on parole, have begun to serve a more lenient sentence or have already served it. The law stipulates that they may be subjected to compulsory supervision and treatment by a psychiatrist on an outpatient basis.

• Simply put, the FSIN will now be able to control the use of compulsory medical measures against those convicted of pedophilia without their consent. The new law will apply only to those who have been convicted of crimes against the sexual integrity of minors, who have been released from their sentence and to whom the court has ordered compulsory medical treatment. According to the Ministry of Justice, there were 35 such persons in Russia in 2024.

What other changes were there?

• These are not the first changes in laws related to medical secrecy in 2025. Since March 1, the grounds for providing medical information to law enforcement agencies have already been expanded. Now the internal affairs bodies can receive information about people with mental disorders who are under medical supervision due to their propensity to commit socially dangerous acts.

• It is also possible to disclose medical secrets to internal affairs bodies when exercising administrative supervision over persons released from prison and when monitoring those who suffer from alcoholism or drug addiction, while posing a danger to others.

What is a medical secret?

• Medical secrecy consists of information about the fact of seeking medical care, the state of health and diagnosis, as well as other information obtained during medical examination and treatment. By default, it is not allowed to disclose such information, even if it is about a deceased person. To disclose a medical secret, a person must give written consent to this, including for conducting scientific research and use in the educational process. After death, close relatives may disclose information about medical secrecy, but only if the person has not previously forbidden it.

• In some cases, in addition to the innovations already listed, medical secrecy can be disclosed without the consent of a person. First of all, this concerns the examination and treatment of a citizen who, for health reasons, cannot express his will. Information can also be disclosed when there is a threat of the spread of infectious diseases, mass poisoning and lesions.

• The law allows for informing a parent or legal representative if a minor with drug addiction is receiving drug treatment or during a medical examination of drug intoxication. The police may receive information about the admission of a patient who has been harmed as a result of illegal actions or who is unable to provide information about his identity.

• Medical secrets can be disclosed when conducting military medical examinations at the request of military enlistment offices, personnel services and military medical commissions, as well as during the investigation of an accident at work, during training and at sports competitions.