Can a Patient Be Turned in for Alcohol And/or Drug Abuse?

Question by wOW ReALLY: Can a patient be turned in for alcohol and/or drug abuse?
Can a doc turn his patient in for alcohol or drug abuse to the police or social services?

Best answer:

Answer by Danim Morem
No. It is their job to diagnose you and to treat you in any way possible. It is a good thing to mention to your doctor if you had recently consumed or used any form of alcohol or drug to help with diagnosis, but they legally cannot turn you in as it is part of their doctor-patient confidentiality guidelines.

Worst-case scenario: they offer or require rehab/therapy.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

We Need a Conceptual Breakthrough in the War on Drugs

Filed under: alcohol and drug abuse

The U.S. now has plans to combine its alcohol (the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) and drug agencies under the new rubric of addictive diseases. But we have two different theories about these addictions. We believe alcohol is not …
Read more on Huffington Post

Alcoholism: Is it a disease, or bad choices?

Filed under: alcohol and drug abuse

"The suffering is miserable," Powers told a crowd of about 60 alcohol and drug abuse counselors at NAU's du Bois Center back in August. "Addiction, living in addiction, is a living hell." There is no "choice" in addiction, any more than there is choice …
Read more on Arizona Daily Sun

Alcohol, drug abuse cost Alaska's economy .2 B in 2010

Filed under: alcohol and drug abuse

Alcohol and drug abuse took a heavy toll on Alaska's economy in 2010, according to a new report from McDowell Group, funded by the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Alaska Mental Health Board, and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.
Read more on Juneau Empire

From Twitter:

RT @PiscesAreUs: RT @PiscesAreUs: A #Pisces gone wrong falls into a lifestyle of drug and alcohol abuse, cult devotion, religious fanaticism, or mental i … – by CartoonsCereal_ (JONATHAN.B.)

From Twitter:

RT @PiscesAreUs: RT @PiscesAreUs: A #Pisces gone wrong falls into a lifestyle of drug and alcohol abuse, cult devotion, religious fanaticism, or mental i … – by JadieKatie (Katie)

From Twitter:

RT @PiscesAreUs: RT @PiscesAreUs: A #Pisces gone wrong falls into a lifestyle of drug and alcohol abuse, cult devotion, religious fanaticism, or mental i … – by osnapitzcarol (?)