Posted on 07/13/2004 4:41:41 PM PDT by mdittmar
A man who told his doctors that he drinks more than a six-pack of beer per day is now fighting to get his driver's license back because the physicians apparently reported him to the state.
Keith Emerich, 44, said Tuesday that he disclosed his drinking habit in February to doctors who were treating him at a hospital for an irregular heartbeat.
"I told them it was over a six-pack a day. It wasn't good for me I'm not going to lie," Emerich said in a telephone interview from his home in Lebanon, about 30 miles east of Harrisburg.
Emerich received a notice from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in April that his license was being revoked effective May 6 for medical reasons related to substance abuse. He has petitioned a judge to restore the license, and a hearing has been set for July 29.
A state law dating to the 1960s requires doctors to report any physical or mental impairments that could compromise a patient's ability to drive safely, PennDOT spokeswoman Joan Nissley said. Nissley said she could not discuss the details of Emerich's case because of confidentiality requirements that also protect the doctor from being identified.
The law requires revocation of the license until the driver can prove he is competent to drive.
Emerich said his heart problem has prompted him to limit his beer drinking to weekends. Aside from a drunken-driving conviction when he was 21, Emerich, a pressman at a printshop who lives alone, said he has a clean driving record and does not drink and drive.
"What I do in the privacy of my own home is none of PennDOT's business," he said.
Asked if he considered his client to be alcoholic, Horace Ehrgood, Emerich's attorney, said: "It depends on what your definition is."
"He's been able to go to work, and he's got a heck of a nice work record. He's been able to function in all other avenues of life," the lawyer said.
Pennsylvania's transportation agency receives about 40,000 medical reports and revokes 5,000 to 6,000 licenses a year but does not keep any statistics on its reasons for doing so, Nissley said. She also said she did not know how many revocations get appealed.
Pennsylvania is one of six states that require doctors to report motorists with medical conditions that could affect their driving, according to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. The other states are California, Delaware, Oregon, Nevada, and New Jersey.
All other states and the District of Columbia allow physicians to submit reports on a voluntary basis.
Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a San Diego-based watchdog group, said cases like Emerich's highlight a tension between medical privacy and public safety.
"Certainly, cases like this could lead individuals to refrain from giving their doctors adequate information to treat them," Givens said.
A six pack a day,keep the doctors away.
Sheesh! What a piker.
Aw crap! Anybody got an old bike I can have? Seriously, WTF? How big is this guy? How many hours does it take to consume 6 beers? Why is this a problem if you are in your home and NOT driving? Now I need a beer! Arraghhhh!!!!
Classic lawyer line . . . sounds like . . .
the "a" answer is:
i'm not an alcoholic because i don't go to the meetings.
hehe...I'm a DRUNK, not an alcoholic! ;-)
If it were me I would top off his gas tank with a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
If it were I, I'd still do it.
Like a driving test??
Boggles the mind.
6 a day? We have that many before noon in South Texas.
so much for medical privacy
My mother was a stone alcoholic. She could suck a 16 oz beer for the whole day. Schlitz packaged that in those days- the 50's. None of my schoolmates believed that she had a problem because "she doesn't drink that much".
The drinking finally killed her. She did such a good job of hiding her drinking that her workplace friends didn't think she drank when we were conversing at the funeral home. They argued with me. I had known her all of my life-25 years, and they had known her 3 years.
She held a job all of her adult life, and got excellent grades in her 4 years at the University of Wisconsin---a rare enough treat for a woman born in 1906. She wasted her potential and created a life for us kids that was a nightmare. There are worse stories, I know, but this was MY nightmare. I still shy away from people who drink, even on a casual friend level. I for one am VERY GLAD this guy is off the roads.
Oh, so THAT'S why my doctor has been so concerned about my substance abuse. Wahhhh! And I thought he cared about me!
Of course if he'd told the doctor he had a fudge pack a day he would have been protected from the consequences.
So9
What if I tell my physician I talk on a cell phone, drink coffee, and listen to loud rock music? and I sleep, too!
Be sure to filter it through your kidneys first.
So9
Someone tell this moron to grow up.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.