playskool
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2001
- Messages
- 354
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?
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?