Ever since the Hippocratic Oath was first taken 2500 years ago, confidentiality has been recognised by the medical profession as a cornerstone of good clinical practice. In 1947, the Declaration of Geneva (amended in 1968) strongly reinforced the declaration of confidentiality in the Hippocratic Oath. The Declaration states:

In recent times legal, social, and technological advances have brought increasingly complex obligations and challenges for healthcare professionals who wish to safeguard patient confidentiality. Under the common law, confidentiality may be enforced by a patient through an injunction or with an action for damages in a civil court, but in the absence of any demonstrable harm, it is likely that the damages awarded would be limited, and civil claims are very rare.

A breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 (vide infra) can result in civil or criminal proceedings.

Disciplinary proceedings based on employment law may follow a breach of confidentiality caused by staff working for the National Health Service (NHS) the primary health provider in the UK. If an NHS healthcare worker breaches confidentiality, alternatively or in addition, he or she may be asked to explain and apologise to a complainant under the patients' complaints procedures.