The urban emergency department: the issue of professional responsibility.
The urban emergency department is routinely asked to manage not only medical emergencies, but also a great variety of social emergencies. This situation is caused in part by budgetary constraints which prevent other agencies from providing 24-hour coverage. In an age of instant access to computerized information, these conditions often result in ethical and legal problems of extreme complexity. A case is presented which raises the issues of confidentiality and liberty in the fiduciary relationship between doctor and patient. The concept of personal care is found to be paramount.
D000328:Adult; D003219:Confidentiality / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D035846:Law Enforcement; D008297:Male; D026706:Paternalism; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population