Caduceus on a plane

An offputting and potentially dangerous event happened during a red-eye flight from Anchorage to San Francisco on Alaska Airlines, Sept. 12-13, 2006.

The airline staff made an announcement asking for medical aid. They wanted a physician to help a passenger who had been identified as being in distress. I stood up and identified myself as a physician and introduced myself to the ill passenger. Before I could even take a proper history from the patient or her caregiver, I was challenged by the airline’s staff to produce identification or stop attending to the passenger.

The only identification I had was a government-issued driver’s license. My physician’s identification, which does not have a photo on it, was in my checked baggage.

My being middle-aged and ordinary in dress and appearance, there was little reason to think I was anything other than what I had represented myself to be, but the staff requested that I return to my seat, which I did, though not before telling the patient and her caregiver that they should contact me directly if they wanted further help.

There were no further medical needs and the flight onward was uneventful. Yet this story raises many questions about the balance of care, authority, responsibility and liability.

In this case, I do not believe any harm was done; however, clearly, it requires medical judgment to separate serious from non-serious medical conditions. The appearance of a passenger is not a reliable guide to the extent of his or her illness. He may be making a lot of noise and not be very ill. On the other hand, he may be very quiet yet deathly ill.

If any ITN readers have views or feelings about this event, please write in. (Write to Doctor On Board?, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com.)

PAUL S. WEINBERG, M.D.

Paso Robles, CA