To Tell or Not to Tell?
SUKHIT PHAOSA V ASDI, M.D.*, SURASAK TANEEPANICHSKUL, M.D.*, CHUMSAK PRUKSAPONG, M.D.*** HENRY WILDE, M.D.**, YUEN TANNIRANDORN, M.D.*,
Affiliation : *Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, **Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok 10330, *** Department of Surgery, Police Hospital, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
The superior court in Frankfurt, Germany last year had to rule whether a physician acted improperly and was liable for damages when he did not inform the wife of an AIDS patient that she may be at risk of being infected. She later did became HIV positive and filed a damage suit against the doctor for not having informed her of her husband's infection and the risk she was facing by having unprotected sex with him. The doctor had counseled his patient that he must use con- doms and that he should inform his mate of his HIV status. However, there was no assurance that the patient followed his advice. The patient later died of AIDS related disease and his widow, the claimant, testified that he had not informed her of his status and never used condoms when they had sexual intercourse. A lower court had previously ruled that the doctor had acted properly by warning his patient that he may endanger others if not using condoms. The superior court judge, however, ruled against the physician stating that in "situations
Keywords : Ethics, AIDS, Court
