Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 24, 1993 TAG: 9305240005
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A: This one's like a puzzle wrapped up in a riddle.
The records continue to be Gray's property even though his license is suspended.
Patients can get copies unless the doctor thinks it's not in their best interest to have their mental health records. They also can have copies provided to a new doctor.
Investigators, who can subpoena specific records, should be the only others with access under the medical profession's code of ethics.
This is far from being a cut-and-dried situation, though, as a spokesman for the state Board of Medicine conceded.
Gray's license to practice child psychiatry is suspended in Virginia because of allegations that he forced sex on young men in Roanoke.
The Board of Medicine has tried to revoke his license, but Gray has resisted because that might lead North Carolina and California, where he's also qualified, to lift his license there.
What would happen to the records if the license were taken away?
If a doctor's no longer a doctor, are those papers medical records? Are they sheltered in the ethical privacy of the doctor-patient relationship?
Perhaps that's a factor for medical authorities to consider any time a doctor's license is under review. The code of ethics is not a law but a professional standard, strong enough that enforcement measures rely on it.
Keeping a doctor in the profession is a way of keeping the code in force.
That's a predicament for those who weigh public and professional concerns in discipline matters.
One-eared stereo
Q: Is it legal to wear a stereo headset while operating a motor vehicle? My car radio is on the blink and I tried my Walkman one day. Someone mentioned that police could write you a ticket. G.D., Willis
A: It's legal - on one ear only.
Wearing headphones on both ears puts you in violation of section 46.2-1078 of the traffic code.
Balancing the stereo effect could be difficult here.
Who has right of way?
Q: Who has the right of way at a four-way intersection with stop signs if all four people get there at the same time - or think they did? N.N., Roanoke
A: After all four have stopped, the right of way goes to the one who starts first.
That's a state police interpretation of this sentence from the state code: "Before proceeding . . . yield the right of way to the driver of any vehicle approaching . . . from any direction."
The basic rule for a four-way stop is that the driver on the right side has the right of way, but with four vehicles at the intersection, that rule doesn't help.
The one that helps most is common courtesy. Lots of court cases come from this kind of situation, and the winner usually is determined by the one who presents the best case - not necessarily the same one who was entitled to the right of way.
Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.
by CNB