Patients have the right to confidentiality and privacy. 

Any information fulfils the criteria of Protected Health information if, even in the absence of the patient’s name, someone can tell who the person is by looking at certain information.

Protected Health information refers to any information if it has the following details about the patient, his/her household members, or his/her employers: Names, Photographs, Dates related to a patient (birth dates, dates of medical treatment, admission and discharge dates, and dates of death), telephone numbers, addresses (including city, county, or zip code), fax numbers and other contact information, Social Security numbers, Medical records numbers, Finger and voice prints or any other unique identification number, such as PAN Number.

MCI Ethics Regulation 7.17 also states that a registered medical practitioner must not publish photographs or case reports of his/her patients without their permission, in any medical or other journal in a way through which their identity could be disclosed. If the identity is not disclosed, the consent is not required.