Violence-inflicted injuries: reporting laws in the fifty states.
OBJECTIVE
Physicians have an important role in the diagnosis, treatment, and documentation of violence-inflicted injuries. Physicians may also be legally mandated to report these assault-related injuries to law enforcement. Previous studies have shown that physicians may not be aware of the reporting laws in their state. The objective of this study was to review the reporting laws for violence-inflicted injuries in adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with particular emphasis on domestic violence.


METHODS
Members of a domestic violence research interest group contacted individual state legislatures regarding mandated reporting by health providers of violence-inflicted injuries in adults. This information was then verified by each state's domestic violence coalition. Statutes regarding child abuse or sexual assault and statutes concerning injuries in incapacitated adults were not included in this study.


RESULTS
Five states (Alabama, New Mexico, South Carolina, Washington, and Wyoming) have no specific reporting requirements for health providers treating patients with assault-related injuries. Forty-two states have reporting requirements for injuries resulting from firearms, knives, or other weapons. Twenty-three states have reporting requirements for injuries resulting from crimes. Seven states have statutes that specifically require health providers to report injuries resulting from domestic violence.


CONCLUSIONS
Forty-five states have laws that mandate physician reports of injuries caused by weapons, crimes, or domestic violence. Physicians need to be aware of the existence of these laws and of their state's specific requirements.
Houry
Debra
D
Emergency Medicine Residency, Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, CO 80204, USA. dhoury@aol.com
Sachs
Carolyn J
CJ
Feldhaus
Kim M
KM
Linden
Judith
J
D000328:Adult; D003625:Data Collection; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D007882:Legislation, Hospital; D007883:Legislation, Medical; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000209:etiology*