Giving a false name at the ER

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FalseNames

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If you're not running from the law, is it illegal to give a false name and address to get treatment at the ER (for example if you have some medical history you don't want the doctors to see)?
 
That's an interesting question. I'll be checking back for answers to this question. %)

Don't E.R.'s require I.D. or Drivers License (unless you're in cardiac arrest, unconscious , etc.)? Do you think you would need a fake I.D.?
 
As far as I'm aware, they don't require you to provide any ID. (at least not in the UK).
 
I moved this to Legal, but if you feel it belongs elsewhere, please move it where you feel is appropriate. I couldn't decide between here or second opinion. :)
 
Electrolyte said:
As far as I'm aware, they don't require you to provide any ID. (at least not in the UK).
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Not providing any ID doesn't equate with providing false information.

I am pretty sure that at least where I live you cannot be denied emergency medical treatment for failure to produce ID. I had a friend who lost their bag (including ID if I remember right), then ended up in the ER for alcohol poisoning, and received treatment. But it's not looked well-upon, best case scenario. If you're doing shit that could land you in the ER, the last thing you want is some stupid administrative holdup.
 
In Canada AFAIK it is not a crime to provide a false name. You can call yourself whoever you want. Unless you are doing so to commit fraud.
 
Electrolyte said:
What if you injure your back and are prescribed benzos? Is that fraud?
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They would more than likely give you a muscle relaxer or opiates for a back problem..not benzo's

It's not fraud unless you are lying to the doctor about your back (Ethical fraud? Prescription fraud?).
 
in the US aren't they required to treat you, regardless of coverage or ability to pay? as far as how/if they pre-authorize it in a real emergency, i have no idea...

as for intentionally providing false information, definitely illegal, in more than one way, especially if you're trying to get drugs.
 
sciencedj said:
They would more than likely give you a muscle relaxer or opiates for a back problem..not benzo's
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Benzos are muscle relaxants and are commonly used for this purpose. Things are probably quite different in the US, but here in the UK they don't usually don't prescribe any opiate more potent than codeine/dihydrocodeine (unless you're genuinely in serious pain).
 
it seems that here, if you're under 40 and go to the ER for "back pain" they're more likely to put you in the psych ward. not counting accidents and such.
 
ellua said:
in the US aren't they required to treat you, regardless of coverage or ability to pay? as far as how/if they pre-authorize it in a real emergency, i have no idea...

as for intentionally providing false information, definitely illegal, in more than one way, especially if you're trying to get drugs.
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I think they are required to give you "stabilizing treatment," but I don't think they are required to do too much beyond that.
 
in france you can assume another identity after service in legionnaires
 
Of course this is far less likely to be a legal problem in Canada or France, where healthcare is free / publicly funded.

I'd assume the original poster is talking about someone poor in the US, who's in need of treatment, trying to make him/herself unaccountable for a potentially large hospital bill.

I'm sure in some cases this could be gotten away with, though probably not at an ER that has seen people do this already. A few years ago I took my g/f at the time to an ER for food poisoning. In a rush, she'd forgotten to bring any ID. The night staff were considerably less thorough about verifying her identity than I've typically seen at healthcare facilities -- they basically took our word about her name and address. She was in the US on a student visa, and had no kin in this country.

In the headache that was filling out all the school-provided insurance forms to cover the thousand dollar bill, it dawned on me that if we had given a false name and address, or if she'd gone back to her home country shortly after treatment, she might have gotten off scot free.

I'm very sure being willfully deceptive about your identity to a hospital in the US could at the very least be grounds for a civil suit, if not criminal charges such as Attempted Theft of Services. If I were in charge of an ER and I caught someone trying to pull that on my shift, they'd get the absolute minimum treatment to stabilize them, and they'd find a cop by their bedside after the doctor or nurse was done with them.

That said, the lack of publicly-funded, free healthcare for all in the US is the real crime here.
 
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