Physician reporting of medically impaired drivers

Assessment of Fitness to Drive and Cardiovascular Diseases at the Spanish Medical Traffic Centres

“…[25][26][27] For example, in some countries the fitness to drive evaluation is carried out in specified centres (as in Spain, where the present study has been carried out), while in others (such as the UK, 10 some USA states 24 or Canada [25][26][27] ), physicians must report patients who may be unfit to drive for medical reasons to the traffic authoritie, even in some cases, as in Canada, in a mandatory way with not so satisfactory results, 24 which raises questions about the cost/benefit relationship, and ethical, 26 and legal 25,27 issues, particularly the degree of protection for the physician who reported a medically impaired driver.…”

“…Guidelines are also provided for disturbances in cardiac rhythm. As previously stated 24 "The most important issue facing the individual physician dealing with a medically impaired driver is the risk presented by the specific patientdriver, a risk that can almost never be known with certainty". The reasons to report or not to report to the traffic authorities have been reviewed.…”

“…The reasons to report or not to report to the traffic authorities have been reviewed. 24 Furthermore, a schema has been proposed for reporting to the traffic authorities depending on the risk of loss of consciousness, driving pattern (frequency of driving, professional drivers, etc), and compliance and response with the treatment: talking with the patient is always a key issue. 24 The information provided to the patient should take into account the associated pathology, the medical drugs taken, whether or not the patient responds to the treatment, presents with impairing sideeffects, and consumes alcohol.…”

Confidentiality and fitness to drive: Professional, ethical, and legal duties in the case of the diabetic bus driver

“…While many publications on this topic provide clinical criteria for determining diabetic patients' unfitness to drive, [2][3][4] the focus here is on ethical, professional, and legal responsibilities after a practitioner has decided that a driver poses a significant danger. Therefore, other than highlighting a few ethically relevant medical factors, this article does not pass comment on when it is clinically correct to reach the determination of fitness to drive.…”

Physicians’ knowledge and continuing medical education regarding fitness to drive: a questionnaire-based survey in Southeast Switzerland

“…Substance abuse and physical diseases can have a relevant influence on driving fitness [1][2][3][4]. The identification of patients who are unfit to drive is an important contribution of physicians to traffic safety.…”