Police gain access to data of 'dangerous' psychiatric patients

Vladimir Putin signed amendments to legislation that allow Interior Ministry employees to obtain access to information constituting a medical secret on "dangerous" patients in psychiatric hospitals upon request. The Medvestnik publication drew attention to this.

The list of people whose medical data security forces will be able to access includes, in particular, those released from places of imprisonment, as well as those who have been ordered by the court to undergo compulsory treatment. In addition, the police will have access to information about patients "with chronic and protracted disorders with severe and frequent exacerbations" who have been placed under dispensary observation. The same amendments empowered security forces to deliver people "evading treatment" to hospitals.

As Medvestnik notes, the Health Ministry press service previously said that the proportion of patients with mental illnesses who pose a danger to themselves and others is “minimal.” At the same time, they emphasized that such patients require “special attention” from health workers and law enforcement agencies.

In recent years, these are not the first amendments to the legislation that give security forces access to Russians' medical secrets. Thus, in December 2022, the Ministry of Health obliged doctors at psychiatric dispensaries to cooperate with the police. Medvestnik also recalls that in 2023, deputy Andrei Kartapolov claimed that all medical organizations, including private ones, would transfer information about patients to military registration and enlistment offices for the military registration register.

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