Thousands of doctors across the U.S. are on medical probation for reasons including drug abuse, sexual misconduct, and making careless—sometimes deadly—mistakes. But they're still out there practicing. And good luck figuring out who they are.
The state medical board's report on Leonard Kurian, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Southern California, tells in stark clinical detail what it says happened to several patients in his care. And it's not easy to read.
The report describes the time Kurian surgically removed the wrong ovary from a 37-year-old woman, a mistake the patient only learned about weeks later when, still in pain, she went for more tests. The good ovary was missing, and the cystic one was still inside her.
Kurian's record gets worse from there. The report makes the case of how his errors of medical knowledge, judgment, protocol, and attentiveness contributed to the deaths of two patients. Both were young mothers who had recently given birth to healthy babies.
Does anyone know that when you are drug tested by a pain management doctor, is there a way the drug test can tell if you are not taking the medicine as prescribed. For instance,if you are taking more than prescribed. If you know you have a substance use problem, it’s time to talk to your doctor, even if the drug(s) you’re using are illegal. The point of talking to your doctor is to seek and obtain the kind of treatment that will help you stop abusing drugs and end your addiction. Your doctor can help you find the right treatment.
You might think a doctor with that type of record would be barred from practicing medicine, but that didn't happen in this case.
Thousands of working physicians are currently being disciplined by their respective state medical boards for findings that patients may want to know about–things such as sexual misconduct, their own addiction problems, overprescribing controlled substances, and all sorts of other documented examples of unprofessional or dangerous doctoring.
Though the odds are quite good that your doctor isn't one of them, it's important to know for sure.
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Read more about When and How to File a Complaint, Smart Ways to Choose a Doctor, and What Makes a Great Doctor?
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Companies are under no legal obligation to report failed drug tests to the police. In fact, to do so would in most cases be an illegal act itself. All states and some federal agencies have laws regarding drug testing, and in most cases, the laws explicitly protect the privacy of the individual. In specific circumstances, your employee's job description may require you to notify the DMV or unemployment agencies of test results, but not law enforcement agencies.
Safety Concerns
As an employer, you are very likely to get incentives by federal and state agencies (as well as insurance companies) to conduct drug tests. Furthermore, the United States Departments of Defense and Transportation require employees of certain occupations (from firefighters to bus drivers) to submit to drug testing due to public safety concerns. Companies are largely free to establish their own drug testing policies, some of which exceed any purely legal requirements. For example, an employee may be fired for testing positive for prescription opiates or anti-anxiety medications; while the employee may be violating company policy, this is of no concern to law enforcement.
Privacy and Confidentiality
Some states have drug testing laws that explicitly guarantee privacy or confidentiality for the testee, including Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Washington. While the precise definition of either 'privacy' or 'confidentiality' may be subject to legal interpretation, releasing an individual's drug testing results to anyone -- law enforcement included -- may lead to considerable legal trouble for you and your company.
DMV Reporting
If you are operating a business in which you employ drivers, you may need to report the results of the driver's drug test to the DMV. In states such as Alaska and South Carolina, an employee or even an applicant may have their commercial driver's license temporarily suspended or permanently revoked in the event of a failed (or refused) drug test. Even then, however, law enforcement will not be involved -- unless the person then is subsequently apprehended operating a commercial vehicle.
Other Government Agencies
A few jurisdictions require that some kind of official documentation be filed under specific circumstances. For example, in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Idaho, persons who are fired for failing drug testing requirements may be denied unemployment benefits. This would presumably imply that you (or your payroll or human resources department) furnish the appropriate agency with a reason why the employee's benefits have been denied. However, this may be in conflict with other laws --- such as in the case of Connecticut or other states, where the confidentiality of the testee is also guaranteed by state law.
References (4)
About the Author
James Lee Phillips has been a writer since 1994, specializing in technology and intellectual property issues. He holds a Bachelor of Science in communications and philosophy from SUNY Fredonia.
Cite this Article Choose Citation Style
Lee, James. 'Do Companies Report Failed Drug Tests to the Police?' Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/companies-report-failed-drug-tests-police-64683.html. Accessed 26 June 2019.
Lee, James. (n.d.). Do Companies Report Failed Drug Tests to the Police? Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/companies-report-failed-drug-tests-police-64683.html
Lee, James. 'Do Companies Report Failed Drug Tests to the Police?' accessed June 26, 2019. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/companies-report-failed-drug-tests-police-64683.html
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