title: Law Enforcement and Emergency Medicine: An Ethical Analysis.
abstract: Emergency physicians frequently interact with law enforcement officers and patients in their custody. As always, the emergency physician's primary professional responsibility is to promote patient welfare, and his or her first duty is to the patient. Emergency physicians should treat criminals, suspects, and prisoners with the same respect and attention they afford other patients while ensuring the safety of staff, visitors, and other patients. Respect for patient privacy and protection of confidentiality are of paramount importance to the patient-physician relationship. Simultaneously, emergency physicians should attempt to accommodate law enforcement personnel in a professional manner, enlisting their aid when necessary. Often this relates to the emergency physician's socially imposed duties, governed by state laws, to report infectious diseases, suspicion of abuse or neglect, and threats of harm. It is the emergency physician's duty to maintain patient confidentiality while complying with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations and state law.
authors.affiliation: Riverwood Emergency Services, Inc., Perrysburg, OH, and the Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH. Electronic address: uhemsdoc@earthlink.net.
authors.forename: Eileen F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Moskop
authors.affiliation: Ruth and Harry Roman Emergency Department, Department of Emergency Medicine, and the Center for Healthcare Ethics, Burns and Allen Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Joel M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Geiderman
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
authors.forename: Kenneth V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Iserson
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Kettering Medical Center, Kettering, OH.
authors.forename: Catherine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Marco
authors.affiliation: Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, Institute for Health and Society, and the Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
authors.forename: Arthur R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Derse
mesh_terms: D003219:Confidentiality / Q000941:ethics; D057237:Criminals / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D035846:Law Enforcement / Q000941:ethics*; D019221:Mandatory Reporting / Q000941:ethics; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics; D011329:Prisoners / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012449:Safety