Ethics Opinions

Those who operate a vehicle when impaired by a medical condition pose threats to both public safety and their own well-being. In deciding whether or how to intervene when a patient’s medical condition may impair driving, physicians must balance dual responsibilities to promote the welfare and confidentiality of the individual patient and to protect public safety.

In the context of infectious disease, physicians’ public health responsibility may include the use of quarantine and isolation to reduce the transmission of disease and protect the health of the public. They also have an obligation to protect their own health. In such situations, these obligations may conflict with patients’ rights of self-determination and with physicians’ duty to advocate for the best interests of individual patients.

In light of their obligation to promote the well-being of patients, physicians have an ethical obligation to take appropriate action to avert the harms caused by violence and abuse.