The ethics of random drug testing of doctors - When or where is it acceptable?

Matthew J Lennon, Gabriel Perrottet, Joseph J Suttie

Abstract

Regular drug testing is a fact of life for many workers in the resource sector. Their employers and the public don’t want drug affected individuals operating machinery. Currently there is legislation to enforce a trial of welfare recipients to have regular drug testing, with punitive measures if they refuse to engage in the testing and supportive measures if they do test positive for drugs. This trial has 73 per cent support from the Australian Public. If there is a public support for random drug testing those looking for jobs, then there will likely be public support for those who are your treating doctor. Anonymous surveys suggest 15-17% of medical students and junior medical officers use recreational drugs. Conservative estimates predict that 8% of doctors will have a substance abuse issue at some point in their lives with anaesthetists and surgeons being the highest risk groups. This poster presentation explores the ethics of random drug testing in the medical profession looking at the concept of impairment, acceptable drug use, ramifications for offenders and the likely impact of ongoing drug use.