When confidential medical information can prevent a serious harm to a third party, the patient’s prima facie right to confidentiality must be balanced against the physician’s prima facie obligation to prevent serious harm to that third party.
AMA J Ethics. 2015; 17(9):819-825. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.9.ecas1-1509.
AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Zujaja Tauqeer, a third-year medical student at Harvard Medical School, interviewed Donald A. Barr, MD, PhD, about caring for patients with limited English language and health literacy schools.