Modern medical practice is founded on the concept of respecting patient autonomy, which in part includes respecting the right of an individual to determine what personal information may or may not be divulged to a third party. Unwarranted disclosure of a patient's medical treatment, advice or medical records is regarded as breach of their personal integrity. In essence, confidentiality protects the patient's informational autonomy.

The concepts of confidentiality and privacy are inter-related, but they are not identical. Privacy is generally viewed as an individual right, whereas confidentiality is considered an interest but not necessarily an individual right.

The major ethical theories accommodate the notion of confidentiality. Deontology envisages confidentiality as a moral duty, but accepts that breaching confidentiality may be ethically acceptable if there is a more pressing duty to disclose information. Utilitarianism supports confidentiality if it promotes the best consequences, but obviously allows for breaches of confidentiality if the greater good is best served by disclosure.