The pre-employment medical--ethical dilemmas for GPs.

BACKGROUND

In many workplaces, employment is conditional on a successful pre-employment medical examination. This examination is usually conducted by a general practitioner on the employers' panel of approved clinics or by an in-house company doctor.

OBJECTIVE

This article uses a case study to illustrate some of the ethical dilemmas that may be faced by GPs in the course of performing a pre-employment medical examination.

DISCUSSION

Ethical issues discussed in this article include: Is it ethical for employers (based on physicians' reports) to select workers based on 'absence of illness' rather than 'fitness for work'? Should physicians divulge the illness of potential workers to third parties? What are the boundaries of a clinician's duty of care in the pre-employment medical examination setting?