doctor patient privilage

[playskool]

i was reading the emergency medical services faq and am curious about the part that deals with emergency room doctors calling police in the case of a drug overdose, and doctors sharing info with police and others.

the laws maybe different in canada, when i was younger i dealt with many medical situations, most of which i wanted to keep hidden from my family.

i was told doctor/patient confidentiality was really there to protect a patients personal information. so, say you had cancer and didnt want anyone to know, or wanted to protect your families medical history, this would help you in doing so.

but when it comes to things that put others in danger, or put you in danger, and your doctor is in a position to prevent this, he has a right to tell.

i know at my local hospital, police are frequently called in for drug overdoses where the patient refuses to notify their family or get treatment. its likely just a scare tactic, but the police are definitly made aware of the patients drug use.

alot seems to rest on the doctors descretion here. does anyone have any first hand information? anyone gone through this?

 

[PottedMeat]

There are certain laws in certain states that supercede the doctor/client privilege. E.G., it is required that a doctor report to the local authorities any evidence that leads them to believe in their professional medical opinion that the patient before them has been the subject of abuse.

 

[CuPillar]

it goes to a limit, they will not tell so much, but when it comes to where your health is in jeapordy they will alert the authorities.

 

[Jumbo]

I'm not quite sure what you're asking. The majority of US jurisdictions have NO "doctor-patient privilege" which would prevent disclosure in some sort of criminal procedure. Somewhat more have a "priest-penitent" privilege, but still less than a majority, if memory serves. What this means is that in states which don't recognize such a "privilege", the content of a discussion may be compelled by the courts. That means that an
unwilling doctor may be forced by the courts to compel something you said in the course of treatment: "Yeah, doc, I think I'm od'd because I swallowed 20 condoms of china white at the airport and I think one broke"

But if you're talking about a situation in which a physician volunteers information, that's a different question, which is quasi-civil and regulatory in nature. Psychiatrists have a recognized duty to inform potential victims when a patient makes a direct, viable threat to harm that person. Doctors are required to register in Health Dept logs any patients with STDs (there has been some revision of this and perhaps the recent HIPPA makes a difference here). Perhaps there are other public-health -safety issues. Any takers?

 

[nemisis000]

The doctor in some circumstances may have an obligation to tell the police certain information. You will find however that in some police forces, there is policy that police do not pursue any avenues to investigate that persons drug use. Offences such as administer prohibited drug for example will be left alone and the police will simply let the health system deal with it and not the law.

 

[9987667766]

I had the experience of having a Medical Doctor call State Social Services because I asked her if there were any "self-help groups for new fathers" to assist in dealing with the stress of a new child in the home and the "graphic" way I can describe my thoughts. I was labeled as a "possible Child Abuser", forced into therapy that was at best "staged" based on a Doctor's hypothesis and a Judicial order, and litigation that stressed us to divorce.

Let's put Dr-Patient privilege aside and just look at the constitutional ramifications of this approach. As a "possible Child Abuser" I have been deemed a threat and forced into compliance that does irrepairable damage. Does that mean that a poor person is a "possible Bank Robber", and should be imprisoned so he doesn't have the chance to rob a bank? I could make plenty of examples here......

There is no way I could knowingly inflict pain on any living thing. I shot a rabbit when I was twelve...never killed again. I hurt a kid in a grade school fight and got beat up in highschool because I wouldn't fight hard for fear of really hurting someone. Yet following this line of thought, I should be doing consecutive life terms for eternity in a maximum security prison.

There is no privilege as long as society continues on the path of prevention rather than deterrence. We are constantly focused on who let this person slip through the cracks instead of the person who committed the crime

Now, seven years later, I am on the verge of commiting to a plan of suicide or simply walking away from my life to seclude myself in some sparsely populated area of the world (outside the US). The problem I asked help with (which would have long since passed) has contributed to the destruction of my life. Now that I do need help from someone to not fall off the face of the earth, I can't find the trust to open up enough to get the help I need. We all know that half truth to your own therapist will get you nowhere...but what happens when I say "sometimes I think of being a suicide bomber"? They don't know that I would never be able to do something like that, and are afraid that if they don't tell someone, and I DO do it, thier life will be over as well from the backlash of blame that the "did too little to prevent".

When you are where I am, you find understanding...true understanding of those who have been labeled "seclusionists" "seperatists" "antisocial" "cynical" "revolutionists", or a wide variety of other "antiestablishment" or "antisocial" terms.

I understand all of you better now.

We are all in one of three groups...
1) Those who are willingly playing the game,
2) Those who are playing unwillingly just to get through life,
3) Those who refuse to play the game.......

For most the decision has been made years ago and little thought put into it since. For others who see angrily.....the lunacy of forgiven atheletes and punished innocents, rewarded liars and abused honesty, and Murderers walking free while a woman does life in prison for her boyfriends drug trafficking abd the acceptance of the path of society to advance each to new levels of insanity....there is a decision to make, and not much to convince us to give you yet one more chance to prove us wrong.

There are many more issues that have led to my current state, but these, and those I cannot handle without help are the result of lost "privilege" and the distrust it creates.

Sorry I rambled alot....but thanks for letting me get that in type...I may get through one more day now.....