The question of a patient’s privacy came up during this legislative session. Should the family members of a patient who has overdosed be notified about that patient’s hospital stay? It came up again after the shooting in Orlando: can doctors communicate with family or friends about a patient’s status if that patient is still unconscious? 

For this week’s The Pulse, we decided to seek some clarity. Professor Mark Rothstein, Founding Director of the Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, weighs in.

Should the families of overdose victims be notified they’ve been brought to the hospital? And what about the confusion over victims’ privacy after the Orlando shooting? A bioethicist weighs in on patient privacy rights.