Explain how vulnerability guides the decision-making process when confidentiality is overridden by the duty to warn. Give an example

Answer 1

The obligation to safeguard patient confidences is subject to certain exceptions, which are ethically and legally justified because of overriding social considerations. When a patient threatens to inflict bodily harm to another person or to himself, and there is a reasonable probability that he may carry out the threat, the health care provider must take reasonable precautions for the protection of the intended victim. The degree of vulnerability to harm guides the decision.