Anders was labeled an alcoholic and had his driver's license revoked

Samnytt has previously reported on how individuals visiting healthcare for various ailments, without their knowledge, undergo a so-called PETH blood test, which is then sent to the Swedish Transport Agency. If the agency deems the value to be too high, they revoke the person’s driver’s license and label them as alcoholics. Now, several of those affected are coming forward – individuals who are nowhere near excessive drinking – and are protesting against clearly misleading tests, as well as the unauthorized disclosure of medical records to authorities.

Anders

61-year-old Anders Dahlgren from Bjärsjölagård in Skåne is one of those now giving a face to the many who have lost their driver’s license after doctors secretly conducted a PETH test and forwarded the results to the Swedish Transport Agency. Patient records are subject to strict confidentiality, but zealous doctors believe they can disregard this if there is reason to suspect a patient has alcohol problems.

The problem is that it’s not just alcoholics who are affected, but completely normal consumers. PETH blood tests have been found to produce high values for reasons completely unrelated to excessive drinking. In Anders’ case, it’s a kidney disease that likely led to an erroneous elevated figure.

Three weeks after Anders had consumed a bottle of wine, the PETH test indicated that he was an alcoholic. The doctor sent the test result to the Swedish Transport Agency, which then revoked his driver’s license.

Once labeled, it’s very difficult to remove it. Anders has tried in several ways to overturn the decision, and has even offered to install an alcohol lock in his car to prove that he’s not a heavy drinker. But the agency remains inflexible – the driver’s license is and will remain revoked.

According to the Swedish Transport Agency, the high values that Anders received require a person to drink 4-6 glasses of wine a day for a long time. Anders had been completely sober for several weeks and had previously consumed alcohol in moderate amounts – wine with meals on weekends and perhaps a small whisky to round off a Saturday evening.

Anders wonders what kind of treatment real alcohol abusers receive if he crosses the alcoholic threshold with that level of consumption, especially after not drinking anything for a couple of weeks.

Losing his driver’s license is no small matter for Anders. He needs the car for work and can’t use public transportation because he starts early in the mornings, before the first bus runs.

Now, he’s seeking legal assistance to appeal the Swedish Transport Agency’s decision to revoke his driver’s license to the administrative court. The chance of getting redress is minimal – so far, no one who has faced the Swedish Transport Agency in court has won.

“What else can I do?” he tells Skånska Dagbladet, hoping that his decision to publicly disclose how he’s been affected will inspire others who have experienced the same to fight for their cause and eventually bring about a change in the law.

Until then, Anders relies on a kind neighbor who helps by giving him rides when possible.

“It’s not right to do this to a person. The Swedish Transport Agency is ruining people’s lives!”

Now, Anders dares not drink a drop. He hopes that total abstinence will eventually lead to normalized test results so that he can regain his driver’s license in the future. At the same time, he misses being able to have a glass of wine or a beer occasionally. He believes he’s entitled to that without harassment from overzealous doctors and complicit authorities.

Annette

59-year-old Annette Dahlqvist in Ljungsbro, just outside Linköping, is another person who has been affected and now chooses to go public in the hope of bringing about a change. She drinks on average once every other month if she’s invited to a party. But when the doctor secretly conducted a PETH test, which showed high values, and without informing the patient, sent the medical record to the Swedish Transport Agency, she was registered as a suspected alcoholic and is at risk of having her driver’s license revoked.

Annette tells Skånska Dagbladet that she “is angry and feels violated and mistreated” by how she has been treated by doctors and authorities. The doctor’s visit that resulted in her being labeled as a suspected alcoholic, with the risk of losing her driver’s license, was about something completely unrelated to alcohol habits. She had previously had her thyroid removed, which had led to unpleasant side effects that she wanted help with.

She didn’t receive any help. Instead, the doctor took tests, including the controversial PETH test, which is meant to reveal if a person drinks too much, but in many cases has shown false high values.

It wasn’t until she received what Annette calls a “threatening letter” in the mail that she became aware that the doctor had conducted an alcohol test in secret. The letter frightened Annette with the prospect that if she didn’t provide a new PETH test, she would be reported to the Swedish Transport Agency and have her driver’s license revoked.

So far, Annette has chosen not to take another test. She believes it’s fundamentally wrong and that it should be illegal for doctors to conduct tests of this nature in secret and then send sensitive information from confidential medical records to authorities, with such serious consequences.

Instead, she hopes for redress through a complaint to the Patient Advisory Committee and that her decision to go public in the media will help others and create public opinion on the matter. So far, the Swedish Transport Agency has not contacted her, but the worry is always there. Faced with the prospect of having to take another test, she now dares not drink even a drop of alcohol.

Just like Anders, Annette believes that it’s her illness, in this case with her thyroid, that is the cause of the high values in the PETH test. She also sees a risk that individuals in need of care may refrain from seeking medical attention when it could result in them losing their driver’s license without cause.