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Friday, July 29, 2016

Doctors disagree about the ethics of treating friends and family

By Elisabeth Tracey
The Pulse
Originally published July 1, 2016

Here is an excerpt:

Gold says the guidelines are in place for good reason. One concern is that a physician may have inappropriate emotional investment in the care of a friend or family member.

"It may cloud your ability to make a good judgment, so you might treat them differently than you would treat a patient in your office," Gold says. "For example you might order extra tests for the family member that you wouldn't order for someone else."

Physicians may also avoid broaching uncomfortable topics with someone they know personally.

"Sometimes we're talking about sensitive issues," says Gold. "If someone has a sexually transmitted disease, it's very awkward with a family member to go into a lot of detail with them... even though with a patient you would have those discussions."

The article is here.