The research ethics committee of the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology (JSPN) published guidelines and a Q & A for privacy protection in the publication of case reports. Many issues have been discussed during the process of their development. In this article, we outlined the privacy protection guidelines and introduced the discussions held during the process. We have not clarified whether the policy of privacy protection in the publication of case reports should be in accordance with "Ethical Guidelines for Medical and Health Research Involving Human Subjects" or "Act on the Protection of Personal Information". However, we have prioritized to imagine how a patient or person concerned feels or suffers disadvantage due to publication of case reports. In the process of developing the guidelines, we found that it is important to find a common principles and common comprehensible wordings to discuss together among the patients or persons concerned, general citizens and medical professionals. There are many remaining issues that we examined but did not reach a consensus for. We will continue to discuss such topics with both members and nonmembers of JSPN. If we find updated interpretations of laws and regulations, we may revise the guidelines and the Q & A for privacy protection in the publication of case reports. However, we will keep our fundamental idea that a credible case report can only be published based on the highest respect for a person concerned, and on the trustworthy relationship between them and the physician.
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