Pubdate: Sun, 12 May 2013
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2013 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Andrea K. Walker

SHOULD DOCTORS BE REQUIRED TO GET RANDOM DRUG TESTS?

What if your doctor smoked marijuana and then performed surgery on 
you? Not a comforting thought, but it could happen. That is why two 
Johns Hopkins doctors and patient safety experts say hospitals should 
make alcohol and drug tests mandatory for physicians. The doctors 
shared their views in a commentary published online April 29 in The 
Journal of the American Medical Association. They say doctors should 
also be tested if a patient dies suddenly or is unexpectedly injured 
during surgery.

"Patients might be better protected from preventable harm. Physicians 
and employers may experience reduced absenteeism, unintentional 
adverse events, injuries, and turnover, and early identification of a 
debilitating problem," wrote the authors of the study: Dr. Julius 
Cuong Pham, an emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins 
Hospital, and Dr. Peter J. Pronovost, director of the Johns Hopkins' 
Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom