title: Keeping lists and naming names: habitual patient files for suspected nontherapeutic drug-seeking patients.
abstract: Emergency departments commonly keep files of patients who are suspected of frequently visiting them and fabricating symptoms to obtain prescription drugs, usually opioids, for nontherapeutic purposes. Such files have previously been given names such as "frequent flyer file," "repeater log," "kook-book," "problem patient file," "patient alert list," or "special needs file." Little has been written about the ethical, legal, and regulatory considerations that should be taken into account when establishing, maintaining, and using such files. This article explores these issues. The term "habitual patient files" is proposed because it is descriptive without being judgmental.
authors.affiliation: Ruth and Harry Roman Emergency Department, Department of Emergency Medicine, and the Cedars-Sinai Center for Health Care Ethics, Burns and Allen Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA. geiderman@cshs.org
authors.forename: Joel Martin
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Geiderman
mesh_terms: D003219:Confidentiality; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004991:Ethics, Institutional; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005371:Filing / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D014481:United States