Comments on: "We live in a very litigious society it makes it more difficult for a physician to be a good Samaritan" http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2006/11/we-live-in-very-litigious-society-it.html medical blog Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:59:44 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2006/11/we-live-in-very-litigious-society-it.html/comment-page-1#comment-68347 Anonymous Wed, 01 Nov 2006 20:30:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2006/11/we-live-in-a-very-litigious-society-it-makes-it-more-difficult-for-a-physician-to-be-a-good-samaritan.html#comment-68347 This is why I NEVER diagnose and treat over the phone- particularly in the on-call cross coverage setting. It pisses people off that I can't "just call in a prescription" for a self-diagnosed problem, but I sleep a lot better than the doctors cited in this article who were "trying to be good guys." This is why I NEVER diagnose and treat over the phone- particularly in the on-call cross coverage setting. It pisses people off that I can’t “just call in a prescription” for a self-diagnosed problem, but I sleep a lot better than the doctors cited in this article who were “trying to be good guys.”

]]> By: Gasman http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2006/11/we-live-in-very-litigious-society-it.html/comment-page-1#comment-68341 Gasman Wed, 01 Nov 2006 19:03:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2006/11/we-live-in-a-very-litigious-society-it-makes-it-more-difficult-for-a-physician-to-be-a-good-samaritan.html#comment-68341 My approach is to never give advise on a matter on which I will not make followup contact. This keeps me from biting off more than I can or wish to handle. It also allows a second chance to reinforce the CYA talk (see your doctor if sypmtoms persist, etc.) and to ensure that any reassurances previously offered are still warranted. <br/><br/>Then I make notes about my encounters and put them in a file. If anything bad ever happens I can then elect to produce those notes, or forget that they ever existed; whichever seems better at the time. My approach is to never give advise on a matter on which I will not make followup contact. This keeps me from biting off more than I can or wish to handle. It also allows a second chance to reinforce the CYA talk (see your doctor if sypmtoms persist, etc.) and to ensure that any reassurances previously offered are still warranted.

Then I make notes about my encounters and put them in a file. If anything bad ever happens I can then elect to produce those notes, or forget that they ever existed; whichever seems better at the time.

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