I have this letter in today's New York Times:
To the Editor:
Dr. Sandeep Jauhar undermines his argument for physician-patient confidentiality by referring to an instance in which he accepted an envelope of white powder, presumably drugs, from a patient and “discarded” it to avoid discovery by the police.
Hiding evidence of a crime isn’t confidentiality; it’s obstruction of justice. There is nothing about one’s status as a physician — or a lawyer, for that matter — that requires or excuses the possession or concealment of contraband.
STEVEN LUBET
The oped to which it responds is here.
[cross-posted on The Faculty Lounge]