December/January 2012/2013 (vol. 09/4)

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Dilemma: Consent and the OH physician

Is occupational medicine a special case?

Summary:

Is occupational medicine a special case?

The GMC’s guidance on confidentiality and its requirements for seeking consent to release reports should not be applied universally to occupational medicine. Jacques Tamin and Naomi Brecker put the case for and against…

JACQUES TAMIN

Occupational physician Jacques Tamin argues that the requirement that ‘patients’ have to be offered a copy of a report written for employment purposes before it is sent should not be universal but should depend on the circumstances of the referral or purpose of the report.

I have argued before that a worker should not be able to withdraw consent for an occupational physician’s report to be sent to the employer….

Dr Jacques Tamin is a consultant occupational physician.

NAOMI BRECKER

Occupational physician Naomi Brecker argues that consistent application of an individual’s right to consent to the release of medical reports is essential in order to maintain trust in the worker’s and employer’s relationship with the OH practitioner.

Trust is at the heart of professionalism. The General Medical Council (GMC) holds that doctors are ‘honest and trustworthy, and act with integrity’5. For occupational physicians, responsibility to achieve and maintain a relationship…

Dr Naomi Brecker is a consultant occupational physician.

 

Author: Tamin J, Brecker N

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Occupational Health at Work December/January 2012/2013 (vol. 09/4) pp18-19

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