Doctor proposes change in privacy laws to stop drunk drivers from using ER as escape route
Toronto emergency room doctor Brett Belchetz says that, too often, impaired drivers are using hospitals as escape routes after a car accident;. He'd like to see changes to privacy laws that often prevent him from reporting such patients to police....
Toronto emergency room doctor Brett Belchetz says that, too often, impaired drivers are using hospitals as escape routes after a car accident;. He'd like to see changes to privacy laws that often prevent him from reporting such patients to police.
"It should be, leaving the hospital without speaking to the police,counts as leaving the scene of the accident"
Since medical attention trumps all at an accident scene, drivers who are injured, or claim to be, end up at hospital without being being interviewed by police. Dr. Belchetz say that many sign themselves out before police arrive.
Confidentiality laws currently restrict doctors from performing blood analysis without patient consent, and from notifying police of suspected impairment.
"There are certain circumstances in which public safety is more important than the individual right to confidentiality"
Currently, doctors are obligated to report suspected a patient's epilepsy or unexplained blackouts to the Ministry of Transportation. Gunshot wounds and threats of violence must also be reported to police.
"Why are we treating impaired drivers better than somebody who has a suspicion of epilepsy?"