Florida Statute 456.59 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXXII
REGULATION OF PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS

Chapter 456
HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS: GENERAL PROVISIONS

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F.S. 456.059

456.059 Communications confidential; exceptions.—Communications between a patient and a psychiatrist, as defined in s. 394.455, shall be held confidential and may not be disclosed except upon the request of the patient or the patient’s legal representative. Provision of psychiatric records and reports is governed by s. 456.057. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or s. 90.503, when:

(1) A patient is engaged in a treatment relationship with a psychiatrist;

(2) Such patient has communicated to the psychiatrist a specific threat to cause serious bodily injury or death to an identified or a readily available person; and

(3) The treating psychiatrist makes a clinical judgment that the patient has the apparent intent and ability to imminently or immediately carry out such threat,

the psychiatrist may disclose patient communications to the extent necessary to warn any potential victim and must disclose patient communications to the extent necessary to communicate the threat to a law enforcement agency. A law enforcement agency that receives notification of a specific threat under this section must take appropriate action to prevent the risk of harm, including, but not limited to, notifying the intended victim of such threat or initiating a risk protection order. A psychiatrist’s disclosure of confidential communications when communicating a threat pursuant to this section may not be the basis of any legal action or criminal or civil liability against the psychiatrist.

History.—s. 10, ch. 88-1; s. 33, ch. 92-149; s. 43, ch. 96-169; s. 83, ch. 97-261; s. 81, ch. 2000-160; s. 4, ch. 2019-134.

Note.—Former s. 455.2415; s. 455.671.

F.S. 456.059 on Google Scholar

F.S. 456.059 on CourtListener

Amendments to 456.059

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 456.059

Total Results: 6

Florida Hosp. Waterman, Inc. v. Buster

984 So. 2d 478, 2008 WL 596700

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 6, 2008 | Docket: 1288177

Cited 68 times | Published

privilege applies to the interpreter as well); § 456.059, Fla. Stat. (2006) (providing the communications

Attorney Ad Litem for DK v. Parents of DK

780 So. 2d 301, 2001 Fla. App. LEXIS 3473, 2001 WL 273834

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 21, 2001 | Docket: 1708825

Cited 13 times | Published

See § 395.3025(1)-(2), Fla. Stat. (2000). Section 456.059 provides that "[c]ommunications between a patient

State v. Famiglietti

817 So. 2d 901, 2002 WL 879409

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 8, 2002 | Docket: 1430195

Cited 9 times | Published

to give warning of a threat of physical harm. § 456.059, Fla. Stat. (2001). [7] According to Jaffee,

Guerrier v. State

811 So. 2d 852, 2002 WL 463655

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 28, 2002 | Docket: 1723584

Cited 8 times | Published

admissible during Defendant's trial pursuant to section 456.059, Florida Statutes (2001), which establishes

State v. Famiglietti

817 So. 2d 915, 2001 WL 717652

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 27, 2001 | Docket: 1429666

Cited 1 times | Published

exceptions within its text and an additional one in section 456.059, Florida Statutes (2001). It is therefore a

ANDREW POLLACK v. NIKOLAS JACOB CRUZ

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 27, 2020 | Docket: 17195219

Published

twenty years before this tragedy occurred, section 456.059, Florida Statutes, provided: Communications