positive drug screen at the MD's office

[needananswer]

I'm an RN in Florida and I need to make an appointment with an MD that I stopped going to 5 years ago as soon as possible. I'm expecting to go through all the new patient motions, including a urine sample which I'm assuming may include a drug test. I have an anxiety disorder and unfortunately use marijuana occasionally to help out when I'm feeling particularly panicked and all other cerebral attempts aren't proving effective. I'm not proud of it and I understand how risky it is, but I do not want to manage my anxiety with addictive prescription medication and don't want to practice under the influence of anything whether it is prescribed to me or not. Anyway to get to my point, I want to know if I am tested, and its positive (my smoking is sporadic and the amount I smoke is minimal), will the doctor have to report it to my employer and/or the BON, or does this fall under the umbrella of HIPAA? If I were to have to be admitted at some point to the hospital I work for by this doctor, would it be part of my record and can action be taken by my employer based on this record? Is it possible to refuse a drug test and still be seen/treated by the MD? Thank you for your help.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

The info your doctor gets from you is CONFIDENTIAL! Say it with me people...CONFIDENTIAL. The only way your employer or anyone else could look at your records is if you sign a consent form for it. It's only during a drug screen from an employer that a doc might tell a drug testing facility if you take certain medications or not if they call. Than the drug testing people can't tell the employer if you're taking anything if it's legal...they must say you're "negative" for drugs if everything, is covered. They can report only positive or negative and can't reveal why if positive!

I read some of the stuff on here and you people scare me. You need to be aware of your rights and the confidentiality of a doctor and his patient. Also, why would he give you a drug screen unless you have a pain contract due to him/her prescribing pain pills. Even than, he can't say swatch if you don't sign for it...he would just drop you as a patient. Everyone needs to know their rights when it comes to drug testing with employers as well. The employers may think they are entitled to see the results but nothing could be farther from the truth.

The only way your doc could reveal any part of your MR is if he had a court order or he felt you were seriously causing patient harm due to your actions...are you...even than the proof needed is very high on the evidence bar.

If you would have looked up drug testing, doctor, results, or anything like that in the search feature on this site you would have gotten many, many, threads to pour over.

Know your rights!

[SmilingBluEyes]

Are you actively practicing as a nurse? If so ,there is where your problem will be.