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Fired rather than break ethics code, doctor fights back

In the Courts. By Tanya Albert, amednews staff. May 13, 2002.

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It's a rock and a hard place between which no physician would want to be sandwiched: Break the medical code of ethics at an employer's request or face the possibility of losing your job if you do follow the professional code that has been ingrained in you since medical school.

But it can happen.

And New York physical medicine and rehabilitation physician Sheila E. Horn, DO, says it happened to her.

She's turning to the courts for recourse, but so far it hasn't been an easy fight.

Two lower state courts have said she can go forward with a lawsuit. But she and others concerned about the medical code of ethics are waiting for a final stamp of approval from the state's highest court, the New York Court of Appeal. If the high court allows Dr. Horn to go forward with her case, the decision will be precedent-setting.

While working as The New York Times' corporate physician, Dr. Horn said, company executives asked her to let them see patients' medical records even though she didn't have patient permission to share the confidential information.

She also claims, in court documents, that the vice president for human resources told her to "misinform employees regarding whether injuries or illnesses they were suffering were work-related so as to curtail the number of workers' compensation claims filed against The Times."

When she didn't comply, Dr. Horn said, she was fired.

So what recourse does she or any other physician have if they believe they were fired because they wouldn't break ethical standards to please an employer? The logical place is court. But most states have strict rules about when employees can sue their employers, and New York is no exception. In fact, it has some of the toughest laws in the nation, allowing companies to let go employees at will. [...]