Re: Pill bottle label found, reclaim at courtesy desk

In article <4ktcf5-6u8.ln1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
 ebenZEROONE@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 (Hactar) wrote:

> In article <billvan-45E6BD.19412208052008@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> bill van  <billvan@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> > In article <68he1jF2sj5b2U1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> >  Mikko Peltoniemi <mikkopel@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> > 
> > > But yesterday morning there was a drug label on the parking lot,
along
> > > with a beer can, among other things. You know, from a pill bottle.
For
> > > 90 tablets of hydrocodone. The label is intact, and has the person's
> > > name, address and phone number. And of course the doctor's.
> > > 
> > > Do you think it would bring any good to call the patient, and ask
> > > directly, how is it possible that that label ended up in our parking
> > > lot? What bad could happen?
> > 
> > Why not call the doctor? S/he may have a good idea of whether the 
> > patient was robbed, or lied to get the scrip, and/or is into 
> > prescription drug partying, and/or trafficking. You don't compromise
the 
> > patient's privacy any more than it already is, and perhaps you'll be 
> > giving the doctor im****tant information.
> 
> I don't think you can violate the patient's privacy by relating
> something that's available to the public (i.e., the discarded label).

I'm sure that's true legally. But you'll essentially be confronting 
him/her as a person who knows something personal about him/her that 
might be embarrassing. If s/he's a pill abuser, or trafficker, you may 
get a hostile reception. If s/he is hooked on painkillers, s/he is 
likely to be embarrassed. If s/he lost the pills or had them stolen, 
then re****ting the find to the doctor's office, or perhaps better, to 
the pharmacy, will tend to sup****t his or her credibility when s/he 
tries to obtain replacement pills. Anyway, I think that's what I'd do. 
The pharmacy would be able to put this information together with 
whatever they already know, and judge what to do next. Like maybe, call 
the patient.

-- 
bill
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