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A PHYSICIAN PRESCRIBED
DANGEROUS MEDICATION
AND THE PATIENT DIED
39 BECAUSE OF LACK OF
FOLLOW-UP
1 Question DangeRous Medication causes death
I received a patient’s blood in my laboratory. A Dr. Reuven had seen
the patient [who was being treated by another physician] that after-
noon. When he saw that the patient’s condition was serious, he de-
cided to do blood work, including a test for the drug Digoxin, which
is a medication given to patients with heart disease. One hour later,
the patient’s condition deteriorated and he was taken to the hospital,
where he died after two hours.
The tests I performed in my laboratory revealed his kidney and
liver functions and level of electrolytes, as well as a pathologically
toxic level of Digoxin, showing that the patient was poisoned by this
medication. We relayed the results to Dr. Reuven by telephone, and
he asked me not to repeat them to anyone else.
I have several questions following this experience:
Should I tell the family of the deceased man about the results of
the blood tests?
I asked Dr. Reuven for the name of the treating physician who
caused the death of the patient. He gave me the name of the physi-
cian, but Dr. Reuven absolutely refused to allow me to share the blood
test results, probably because he feared a conflict with the treating
physician, Dr. Shimon, who would certainly be angered that someone
142 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein
so, he is imprisoned to put pressure on him to divorce his
wife.
b. If a man owes money to his friend but does not pay it and
there is reason to suspect that he is hiding his assets, he is
jailed so that he should pay.
c. If someone throws a stone at another in order to kill him
and wounds him, the stone-thrower is jailed until the
outcome becomes clear. If the victim dies, they put the
stone-thrower to death.
The physician is not included in the above list of those
we are halachically permitted to imprison. Therefore, he
cannot be punished with jailing.
3. Regarding the possibility that the anesthesiologist’s license will
be revoked, it says in Tana Devei Eliyahu Rabbah (Ch. 23):
“And if men fight and one smites the other with a stone …
if he rises and walks on his staff, then the one who smote
him goes free, but he shall pay for the loss of his time and
heal him” …“And if a man smites his manservant and he
dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished” (Shemos
21:18-19), From here we learn that a physician or a teacher
who hits his patient or student and kills him intentionally
should be removed from his post and work in another job.
If he repents, he can be returned to his position, but if not,
he is punished even for his own money [damage done to
his own asset].
These words of Tana Devei Eliyahu apply to a physician who killed a
patient intentionally, not one whose act is considered close to inten-
tional. This is especially so if there is room to judge him favorably
because the supervisor made him work long hours, and he erred from
exhaustion.
It says in maseches Yoma 56b, that because of the weakness of the
Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur, our Sages were concerned that he may
make a mistake and exchange the blood of the ox with the blood of
Anesthesia instead of oxygen 2 135