Volk v DeMeerleer may conflict with professional guidelines regarding physicians’ obligations to breach patient confidentiality to protect third parties.

Because the number of patients undergoing genetic testing is increasing, medical staff should be conscientious about their patients' potential needs for genetic counseling and be ready to advise patients on communicating their diagnoses to at-risk family members or refer them to genetic counselors.

The AMA Code of Medical Ethics' opinion on confidentiality of patient disclosure and circumstances under which it may be breached.

Physicians and counselors must address the importance of communicating genetic test results to family members in the pre-test counseling and informed-consent processes prior to testing.

Two key court decisions came to different conclusions regarding physicians’ duty to warn third parties of genetic risk.

Physicians should understand the limits of patient confidentiality and the importance of taking a thorough sexual history in the diagnosis and management of a patient with an STD.

Physicians are obligated to follow the law regarding HIV reporting and contact notification in the state where they practice while also being sensitive to the impact that disclosure has on individual patients.

Physicians are encouraged not to breach confidentiality by disclosing a patient's genetic information to their offspring or other family members.

When a public health risk exists, a physician's obligations to warn those in potential danger overrides rules of patient confidentiality.

When a public health risk exists, a physician's obligations to warn those in potential danger overrides rules of patient confidentiality.