Tarasoff v. Regents established that confidentiality can be overridden when what condition exists?

• A. The patient poses a serious danger of violence to others
• B. The patient’s confidentiality is dispositive in all cases
• C. The duty to warn exists when a patient poses a serious danger to others
• D. The confidentiality must always be maintained

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that confidentiality is not absolute; when a patient poses a serious, credible threat of violence to identifiable others, clinicians have a duty to take protective action. This is the Tarasoff duty to warn or protect, meaning the professional must warn the potential victim and/or involve authorities or take other steps to prevent harm. So the best answer states that the duty to warn exists when a patient poses a serious danger to others. This reflects the override to confidentiality that Tarasoff established.