Breen v Williams

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Mr. Breen against Dr. Williams concerning Mr. Breen's access to his medical records. Mr. Breen sought access to these records, which were held by Dr. Williams, a medical practitioner. The dispute centred on whether Mr. Breen had a legal right to obtain these records.

The central legal issues before the High Court were whether a patient possesses a proprietary right in the information contained within their medical records, whether a doctor owes a fiduciary duty to a patient to grant access to those records, and whether a doctor's duty to act in a patient's best interests, with utmost good faith and loyalty, extends to providing access to their medical records. The Court also considered the concept of a patient's "right to know" in this context.

The High Court, by majority, dismissed Mr. Breen's appeal. The Court reasoned that while a doctor has a duty to act in a patient's best interests, this duty does not create a proprietary right for the patient in the information within the medical records, nor does it impose a fiduciary duty on the doctor to grant access. The Court found that the relationship between doctor and patient, while involving trust and good faith, does not give rise to a fiduciary duty in the sense that would compel a doctor to provide access to the records. The appeal was dismissed with costs.