Patient upset that drug use was on his medical record

Tough and touchy question posed by this internist..worth reading the entire article...the last line says it all....BD

I am an internist. A life-insurance company rejected a patient of mine when it saw on his medical records, read with his consent, that he has used drugs recreationally. He angrily told me he didn't know this would be in his records (although he saw me taking notes during his visits). Should I include such things in patients' records and emphasize that I'm doing so, even if it leads my patients to withhold important information?

It is also different when considering not life but health insurance. Everyone has a moral right to health care. Current public policy, built around private insurers, can thwart that access by denying coverage or making it prohibitively expensive for those who have a serious medical condition like HIV, for example, or engage in risky conduct. Under this system, it is difficult to imagine a really good course of action for a physician. Only a change in public policy can truly solve your problem.

Everday ethics: Patient upset that drug use was on his medical record - Salt Lake Tribune

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