article_snippet: The findings from the investigation have prompted heated debate in Germany on a patient's right to privacy, with Chancellor Angela Merkel proposing an inquiry to re-examine German law.
article_snippet: With respect to medical data, the criminal code means doctors are only allowed to breach confidentiality when doctors have reason to believe that sharing doctors knowledge could prevent 'a particularly serious crime' or a threat to someone's life.
article_snippet: doctors can face a year in prison if doctors wrongly breach privacy, but up to five years in jail for withholding 'credible information about the planning or commission' of serious acts like murder.
article_snippet: Despite the variation in sentences, doctors have tended to favour the individual's privacy.
article_snippet: Many in Germany are now debating whether the potential to neutralise threats to public safety should trump doctor-patient privilege.