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- Wings of answers: aviation authorities want to gain access to medical secrets of citizens
Wings of answers: aviation authorities want to gain access to medical secrets of citizens
The aviation authorities want to gain access to the medical secrets of citizens and crew members without their consent when investigating plane crashes and incidents. The relevant bill has already been developed by the Ministry of Transport, Izvestia learned. Currently, the legislation provides for a list of cases where medical information can be transmitted without the patient's consent, but the investigation of aviation accidents is not included in it. The Ministry believes that this creates obstacles to the full-fledged investigation. Therefore, the agency proposes to supplement the law "On the basics of public Health protection" with a new exception. Izvestia investigated the risks of such an initiative.
Why do they want to get access to passengers' medical secrets?
The Ministry of Transport wants to expand the capabilities of investigators in air transport accidents. The agency told Izvestia that the proposed changes give the commission the right to request medical information about participants in the events, including the dead, without obtaining separate consent, in accordance with the procedure provided for by federal law.
"This will allow specialists to comprehensively assess the circumstances of the aviation incident, including the psychophysiological condition of the crew members and the nature of the injuries sustained by passengers, which meets international standards," the ministry's press service explained.
They also stressed that medical data will be used exclusively for investigative purposes and are not subject to disclosure.
—A comprehensive and detailed analysis of aviation accidents will make it possible to develop sound recommendations to prevent such situations, improve operational regulations and take into account the information received when modernizing aircraft structures," the ministry's press service said.
A medical secret is information about a patient that health workers do not have the right to disclose. These include the fact that a person has sought medical help, their state of health, diagnosis, and other information that became known to the doctor during the examination and treatment.
Currently, the law "On the basics of protecting the health of citizens in the Russian Federation" allows the transfer of medical secrets without the consent of the patient only in a number of cases. For example, if a person cannot express his will on his own, there is a threat of the spread of infections or mass poisoning, information is requested by investigative authorities or the court, as well as when providing medical care to a minor, according to an explanatory note to the bill, which was reviewed by Izvestia. The investigation of air accidents is not included in this list.
"This gap makes it impossible to establish the important circumstances of an aviation accident or incident, and in some cases, in the absence of medical information about dead crew members or passengers, it is not possible to investigate such an event and determine its causes," the document says.
At the same time, the medical condition of the crew members is of particular importance for the proceedings, since the admission of pilots to flights depends on their health and compliance with established requirements. Therefore, the commission should find out what physical and psychological condition the pilots were in, how well they were able to work and how they acted during the emergency. To do this, she studies various documents, including medical ones. Experts should also assess how the consequences of the accident were affected by the design of the aircraft, flight conditions, actions to rescue passengers and injuries sustained by people. However, currently she does not have the right to access the results of forensic medical examinations, acts of pathoanatomic examinations and other special documents.
The authors of the bill also refer to Russia's international obligations. According to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the Russian Federation must investigate accidents on its territory if they have led to the death or serious injury of passengers, including on planes of other states. The results must be transmitted to the country where the aircraft is registered.
The lack of access to medical data may prevent the Russian Federation from fulfilling these obligations, since such information is necessary to investigate certain aviation accidents, according to the explanatory note to the draft law.
Another argument is related to the changes in the Air Code, which came into force on March 1, 2026. They stipulate that the Russian rules for the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents must comply with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
According to the documents available to Izvestia, it is planned that the new rules will enter into force on July 1, 2027.
Pros and cons of disclosing medical secrets
The State Duma Committee on Health Protection told Izvestia that the topic of medical secrecy is very sensitive for any person, so the bill requires careful study.
— We have not received such a bill yet. But at first glance, there is no need for it, since law enforcement agencies can already get all the information if there is a serious incident. It is impossible to hide it from them," the source told Izvestia.
Among the main risks, the committee cited the possible misuse of such information, the range of which may be very wide. So, the explanatory note lists very different information — from data on the state of health and psychophysiology to the results of autopsies and forensic medical examinations. At the same time, the proposed norm itself, judging by the description, gives the right to receive information containing medical secrecy in general.
The State Duma also believes that there are risks of data leakage and misuse of information for other purposes, and as a result, there is a risk of reducing confidence in the medical system. If a person knows that their data can, under certain circumstances, be transferred to government agencies without their consent, this can theoretically weaken the sense of confidentiality of medical care.
Ilya Zotov, head of the All-Russian Passenger Association, believes that the initiative requires careful discussion with the involvement of the expert community.
— First of all, such a rule requires coordination with passengers. I think that they should have the right to consent to actions with medical information, for example, by analogy with issuing loans, when a person can put a complete ban on their registration," the expert argues.
According to him, the disclosure of medical data without a person's consent is a very delicate point.
— If a person is not ready to provide such information at all, then he can close it. Personally, I think there are no compelling reasons to open such data yet," Ilya Zotov believes.
Izvestia sent inquiries to the largest airlines asking them to give their assessment of the initiative.
The press service of S7 informed Izvestia that they were aware of the development of new standards.
— We are currently in the process of analyzing the document and preparing possible comments and suggestions. It is necessary to take a comprehensive and thoughtful approach to the assessment of this draft law," the company noted.
In the history of transportation, there are cases when information about the condition of pilots was hidden. So, one of the most striking examples is the Yak—42 disaster in Yaroslavl in September 2011, in which the Lokomotiv hockey team was killed. In this case, one of the factors contributing to the tragedy was the presence of a prohibited drug (phenobarbital) in the body of the co-pilot. It had an inhibitory effect on the central nervous system and slowed down the reaction. According to the IAC, the pilot could have taken the medicine to hide from the doctors another disease (polyneuropathic syndrome), which also affected handling.
There are also examples in world practice. In 2015, an Airbus A320-211 operated by Germanwings Airlines crashed between Digne-les-Bains and Barcelonnette (France), en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf. According to the main version, the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately sent the plane up the mountain. The investigation revealed that he suffered from depression and was in a serious psychological condition. Certificates from a neurologist and a psychiatrist were found in his apartment, and he was on sick leave on the day of the disaster. However, due to medical secrecy, the employer (airline) did not know about the pilot's health problems.
According to Yuri Sytnik, an honored pilot of Russia and former flight director of Vnukovo Airlines, on the one hand, it is necessary that there be mandatory access to information about crew members, because, as a rule, incidents that can lead to accidents occur in the cockpit. But on the other hand, there are accidents in the cabin of an aircraft, caused, for example, by the inadequacy of a passenger, which can pose a threat to the entire aircraft. Therefore, if these norms are adopted in the name of the interests of citizens, then, according to the expert, they deserve support.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
