Citation

Anderson EE, Black LJ, Bostick NA. Disaster Med. Public Health Prep. 2007; 1(1): S38-42.

Affiliation

American Medical Association, 515 N State St, Chicago, IL 60610, USA. emily.anderson@ama-assn.org

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Publisher Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1097/DMP.0b013e318149dfae

PMID

18388613

Abstract

The recent shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) suggest that an increased reliance upon the medical community to support public health violence prevention efforts may be warranted. As physicians are called upon to support these efforts, they must effectively balance their obligations to promote public safety with their traditional obligations to promote the best interests of their individual patients. To meet these concurrent ethical obligations, physicians' participation in public health violence prevention should seek to improve public safety without compromising the care of patients or exposing individuals to undue harm. Physicians should, therefore, report to the appropriate authorities those patients who are at risk of committing violent acts toward the public, but should only disclose the minimal amount of information that is necessary to protect the public. Moreover, physicians should also recommend the separation of violent individuals from the community at large when necessary to improve public safety while advocating for the provision of appropriate treatment measures to improve the patients' well-being.

Language: en