Cop to Cop: Negotiating Privacy and Security in the Examining Room

Authors

Sondra S. Crosby
George J. Annas, Boston University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Response or Comment

Publication Date

1-2021

ISSN

1073-1105

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Language

en-US

Abstract

Medical examination rooms are private places where a physician and patient can participate in a doctor-patient relationship, complete with a reasonable expectation of physical and informational privacy. This is the ordinary rule, and the usual expectation. But in this issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Gutierrez et al. describe the case of Mr. Doe, illustrating that there is nothing ordinary about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other custodial authority bringing a detainee/prisoner to a private hospital to see a physician.¹ In this commentary, we outline the law governing this category of doctor-prisoner encounter, and suggest how correctional officers might be persuaded to stay out of the examining room.

Recommended Citation

Sondra S. Crosby & George J. Annas, Cop to Cop: Negotiating Privacy and Security in the Examining Room , 48 Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 169 (2021).
Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1073110520917006