Abstract
The Department of Health in Taiwan plans to propose a new law for protecting the privacy and security of patient health information. As is the case in the drafting of many other statutes in Taiwan, American law and legal assumptions have played a significant role when researchers have provided legislative suggestions in the development of this new law. However, imitating American law without contemplating cultural divergence is problematic. In Taiwan, as well as in many other East Asian countries, when a patient is diagnosed with a fatal disease, physicians often inform family members but withhold the diagnosis from the patient, even if the patient is competent. This practice diverges from American legal assumptions and regulations. This article aims at analyzing and responding to the problem of transplanting American law outright to Taiwan. While I support the reform of information privacy law, I claim that Taiwan's new law should leave room for its current medical practice, along with awareness of various and changing cultural attitudes. Specifically, the new law should require physicians to be aware of patients' cultural preferences, and should give physicians room to consider withholding information from patients and disclosing information to families in certain circumstances. In addition, the new law should require itself to be reexamined regularly to follow cultural changes, and should include provisions to require, prompt, or support vigorous development of medical professional ethics and education for the enhancement of cultural awareness and dialogue.