Therapeutic privilege allows withholding information if disclosure is believed to cause what?

• A. Allowing clinicians to withhold information from a patient if disclosure is believed to cause serious, immediate psychological or physical harm
• B. Withholding information to prevent legal liability
• C. Recommending treatment without patient consent
• D. Obligation to inform patient of all risks regardless of harm

Answer: (D)

Therapeutic privilege lets a clinician withhold information when disclosure would cause serious harm to the patient’s health or to the course of treatment. In practice, it means if telling everything up front could trigger severe psychological distress, panic, or a breakdown of decision-making, the clinician may delay full disclosure or present information in a way that protects the patient while still planning to provide complete information later. This is an exception to full, autonomous disclosure and should be used only when withholding information is in the patient’s best interest and there’s a plan to revisit and ensure informed consent when it’s safer to do so. It’s not about avoiding liability or insisting on telling all risks no matter the harm.