Community versus individual benefit.
Australian law embodies a "communitarian" conception of the doctor's responsibility to respect the confidentiality of the doctor-patient relationship. This implies that respect for confidentiality sits alongside two other responsibilities: proper care for the patient's general wellbeing and proper attention to the safety of the community. Most jurisdictions now require drivers to advise their local driver-licensing authority of any permanent or long-term injury or illness that affects their ability to drive safely. Some jurisdictions require doctors to inform the driver-licensing authority about patients whose medical condition may impair their driving to the extent that they are likely to endanger the public. If you can not persuade a patient to inform the driver-licensing authority of the need for an assessment of his or her ability to drive safely, then you should inform the relevant authorities yourself.
Tobin
Bernadette M
BM
Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, NSW. b.tobin@plunkett.acu.edu.au
Leeder
Stephen R
SR
Somerville
Ernest R
ER
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001315:Australia; D001334:Automobile Driving; D017007:Duty to Warn; D004827:Epilepsy; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D008004:Licensure; D008297:Male