Year: 1967 Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, v.199, no.5, (January 1967), p.99-102 SIEC No: 19831802

This article examines whether a physician’s responsibility to deter a patient’s violence to self or others should supercede the confidentiality constraints of physician-patient relationships in specific situations. The author argues that in certain circumstances (dependant upon persistence of suicidal thought, formulation of means, actions taken for preparation of suicide or actual suicide attempts) the physician has a responsibility to breach confidentiality to the patient & inform others of possible danger. (SC