Medical Advice for Family and Friends: The Challenges and Risks
Medical Advice Meaning to Family and Friends
Many physicians find themselves in situations where they are asked to provide medical advice for family and friends. They may respond with love, friendship, duty or curiosity.
Reliable health information can be found in quality magazines that have rigorous editorial and content standards. However, it is important to keep in mind that the Internet is not a reliable source for medical advice.
Relatives and Friends
Relatives and friends often request medical advice for a number of reasons: curiosity, needing guidance in a situation that is unfamiliar, concern about their own health status or that of a family member, wanting “free” advice, and frustration with other physicians or the healthcare system.
Physicians who are asked to provide advice to relatives and friends are generally motivated by a combination of love, friendship, duty and professional ethics. However, their personal feelings could easily color their assessment and lead to overtreatment or undertreatment.
In addition to ensuring that their patient is receiving optimal care, physicians must also be mindful of their duties and responsibilities to their colleagues, hospital and community. They must ensure that they have a chain of command and paper trail to demonstrate that an actual doctor-patient relationship existed. They must ask if an examination is necessary or for permission to review previous records, and they must comply with HIPAA regulations. They should also be mindful of the potential for liability and a malpractice lawsuit.
Personal Interests
Many people are unsure where to get reliable information. They often seek medical advice from a friend or family member or turn to the internet for answers. However, it is important to remember that the internet can contain incorrect information or even misinformation.
When deciding what medical advice to follow, it is crucial to consider the source of the information and to evaluate its accuracy. It is also essential to understand that a doctor can be held liable for the medical advice he or she gives, depending on certain circumstances.
Studies have shown that patients who leave against medical advice are at higher risk of hospital readmission and death than those who stay with their doctors’ management plan. Various factors have been identified that may contribute to this phenomenon, such as a patient’s comorbidities and socioeconomic status. Hospitals have implemented strategies aimed at reducing AMA discharges, such as providing social-support services to promote patient compliance with their management plans.
Expectations
Many studies have emphasized the importance of patients’ expectations with regard to their medical consultations. However, it is unclear how these expectations relate to patient satisfaction.
Despite their best intentions, doctors can sometimes give bad advice. They may talk about things outside of their area of expertise, or recommend a test that isn’t needed. This kind of advice can be considered malpractice.
When a patient’s expectations are not met, it can lead to frustration and anger. It is important for physicians to understand why these misunderstandings happen and to learn how to avoid them.
One way to help patients manage their expectations is by being clear about the length of appointments, how long it takes for a prescription to be generated and the costs of services. Putting information on your website and on answering machines can also help, as can posters in waiting rooms. It is also helpful to speak in simple terms and to avoid medical jargon unless it is absolutely necessary.
Motivation
While it can feel unnerving to sign an AMA form, it doesn’t have to define your relationship with your doctor or medical care. In fact, it can be a useful tool for encouraging a frank risk-benefit discussion and keeping you informed of your options.
The research shows that physician motivation plays an important role in quality of care. Autonomous motivation is associated with positive perceptions of patient-centeredness and quality, whereas controlled motivation and amotivation are associated with negative perceptions.
Medical professionals are trained to couch their advice carefully, especially when they are discussing things that fall outside of their area of expertise. Talking about the risks of a particular treatment or procedure without appropriate credentials can be considered negligent and could lead to malpractice in some circumstances. That is why it’s always important to check the source of any medical information, particularly on websites that are not endorsed by healthcare professionals. The best sources of information are likely to be government sites, condition-specific websites and those run by support organisations.