title: Violence-inflicted injuries: reporting laws in the fifty states.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Residency, Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, CO 80204, USA. dhoury@aol.com
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Houry
authors.forename: Carolyn J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Sachs
authors.forename: Kim M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Feldhaus
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Linden
mesh_terms: 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*