Just curious- When pt's are drug tested..

Published

And they come back positive for something illegal, is the MD or facility required to report it to authorities? Or are they protected under HIPAA? Possibly this varies state to state, but I'm curious anyway.

Specializes in Psychiatry, Telemetry, Med/Surg.

We test pts. who may have a decreased LOC or are acting strange and its only to find the best way to treat them. Nothing is reported.

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Specializes in Emergency.

As Rob72 mentioned, while any lab testing in the hospital technically isn't for legal purposes any medical record can and often is subpoenaed for court proceedings. Maybe even more so in the case of pts that pass through the ED/facility that are in police custody. While there may not be a chain of custody so any values may not be as good as one taken in the appropriate manner, they often get used. Taken as a whole combined with the persons behavior, statements and even your documentation cases get made or broken.

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Specializes in Psych, CD, HIV/AIDS, Complex Medical CM.
reported in mine worked trauma ICU all admits tested. Had a pt read miranda rights ? on spelling, while intubated and on propofol

That is horrific.

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