Duty to warn: when should confidentiality be breached?
Family physicians may be confronted with the dilemma of when to breach a patient's confidentiality to warn an intended victim of specific threats of harm. The courts have consistently ruled that persons who have a therapeutic relationship with patients have a duty to protect society from specified and foreseeable danger, yet at the same time to act judiciously in guarding against unnecessarily violating a patient's confidentiality. The dilemma imposed by this dual obligation is illustrated by a case report. Guidelines for assessing dangerousness and determining a course of action are offered so physicians can respond to their patient's threats of violence.
Oppenheimer
K
K
Department of Family Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta.
Swanson
G
G
D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D003219:Confidentiality / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D028681:Moral Obligations; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010821:Physicians, Family; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D014754:Violence