Doc,
I just lost a lot of respect for you. Nice to know you will just let Hastings trample anyone's right in your hospital while you stand aside.
What was the point of even having your meeting if you are just gong to stand down and let the cops do what ever they want?
Hmm. Not that I care at all whether you respect me or not... but what exactly would you suggest I--or any other ER doc--do in such a circumstance, other than the plan I outlined in the OP? Should I throw down on the cop? Start a gun battle right there with him? Get arrested for a felony and lose my medical license, just so this patient's blood remains sacrosanct?
And again, not that your approval was sought, but the object of our meeting was to come up with a plan to avoid any such a confrontation in our facility in the future, because it would be detrimental to the good order of our Department and our facility. I believe I made that very clear in the OP and again in my post this morning.We are not the ACLU. We are not the Southern Law Policy Center. We do not crusade for patients' constitutional rights. We are an Emergency Department; we treat emergent medical cases in accordance with the health care laws by which we are governed. The actions of other agents outside of our purview are not something we can or should interfere with.
Doc,
I'd hope you did exactly what this nurse did, present the offending officer with the written agreement between your to agencies outlining why his request is not valid, call the hospital administrator, and not provide access to the patient. In this instance the patient was in the secure burn ward, so there was no need to tackle anyone, just don't open the door. And if the cop behaves like this one does, I want you to release the tape so the department can feel the full force of the public outrage at their unacceptable, unethical, and illegal behavior.
Sure, this nurse will be the eye of the storm for a short while, but it's likely to result in some positive change.
Would your course of action lead to the same degree of positive change?
