Originally Posted by
RAT 5
When do the supposed/perceived rights of the individual over-ride the established rights of the many? Does not a doctor, as well as having a 'duty of care' to his patient, also have 'duty of care' to society in general. The medical oath is to save life. Do the laws of privacy over-ride one's scariness about a patient's future actions?
Please don't ask doctors to play God. The ones who play it that way are enough of a nuisance already.
As for the rest (most doctors) you are asking them to be able to predict with a level of accuracy that the mind and emotional sciences simply can't handle.. Were it that good, suicide would have been cured long, long ago.
If the doctor to patient relationship isn't confidential, the patients will be less likely to share things with a doctor. That's good for nobody, neither the patient nor the public.