Over the decades, the confidentiality law that fosters privacy about the sessions between patients and therapists has evolved along the gradient of enhancing society’s need to know basis. According to research, the increase in lawsuits, litigations, medical issues, and violence from individuals rendered the change of the confidentiality between therapists and patients. In this case, the therapists are entitled to the responsibility to report cases in which the patient poses a threat to the well-being of society. Therefore, this is the responsibility of the therapist to inform the patient that they are obligated to report cases that indicate potential or cause actual harm to other people. Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) further establishes that the therapist has to submit all notes to the managed care organization (MCO) in the case the institution should pay for the expenses. Confidentiality is an issue whose evolution fosters a complete lack of privacy under dynamic situations of MCO’s involvement and social security.
The course of action for a patient confessing to murder another person involves the psychiatrist reporting the imminent threat to law enforcement. In a different spectrum, the psychiatrist handles rants of a client about threats through fostering an anger management technique with the client. The second course of action by the psychiatrist is informing the responsibility of the therapist to report any cases that pose an imminent danger to other individuals or the client. In the case that the patient shows violent tendencies, this is the duty of the psychiatrist to report the situation to law enforcement. The amendment of the laws and policies compromised the essence of privacy mainly because of fostering safe and healthy living among individuals in society.