Marcus Welby, M.D., F.B.I. A federal pilot program for "strategic defense" of The Homeland, requires emergency doctors in Pennsylvania and West Virginia to report to the FBI patients who come in with suspicious aiments.The theory is that the out-of-season cough, the dubiously missing finger and such could be signs of ...hear the drum roll... terrorism!
Civil liberties watchdog Elaine Cassell spotted it first. She rightly worries that the program will soon declared a success and thence be extended to other states.
ER physicians have long been required to report to authorities shootings, stabbings, poisonings and evident spousal and child abuse, but this twist goes beyond the pale of privacy. Why? Because you can bet much of the doctor's suspicion about the nature of the injury will be inevitably coupled with his or her opinion of the the person who suffered it.
Swarthy Middle Eastern-looking men whose toes have been lopped off are naturally more suspicious that besuited Episcopalians who just happened to be knee-capped.
Civil liberties watchdog Elaine Cassell spotted it first. She rightly worries that the program will soon declared a success and thence be extended to other states.
ER physicians have long been required to report to authorities shootings, stabbings, poisonings and evident spousal and child abuse, but this twist goes beyond the pale of privacy. Why? Because you can bet much of the doctor's suspicion about the nature of the injury will be inevitably coupled with his or her opinion of the the person who suffered it.
Swarthy Middle Eastern-looking men whose toes have been lopped off are naturally more suspicious that besuited Episcopalians who just happened to be knee-capped.
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