In the rush to create a business-friendly environment for drillers, state governments have laid out the red carpet by passing laws to protect proprietary information about the content of fluids being pumped into gas wells during the fracking process. In many states, if physicians suspect water contamination, they may request to know the materials, but must first sign a confidentiality agreement and thus effectively bar themselves from disclosing any of this potentially very important information to others. Imagine being the physician in Dallas whose patient was exposed to fracking fluid and developed renal failure, or the dermatologist in Pennsylvania whose patients live near a well and contracted non-healing skin lesions after their water was contaminated. In such a situation, it would be extremely wise to exchange information with other physicians, discuss cases with other consultants, and inform the public of potential threats. The medical community needs to disperse this kind of information through word of mouth and published literature. Forcing physicians to sign confidentiality agreements limits the transmission of such information. Even if such communication were technically legal, the confusion and fear created by such laws makes many uncertain about whether or not they are allowed to disclose such information.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 09:24:18 +0000
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