More David Williams from his Cavalcade of Risk post (see prior discussion):
Physicians commenting on my post admit directing patients to the ER in order to reduce their own risk of being sued. It’s rational for patients to second-guess their docs in such circumstances. Would you hire a lawyer or accountant who always provided the most conservative advice with the most expensive consequences?
No, it’s not unreasonable to question physicians in these cases – most physicians will simply reply something to this effect: “You cannot appropriately diagnose over the phone; responsible medicine dictates being seen and examined by a physician.”
There are physicians who are happy (or naive enough) to accept that malpractice risk. It is up to the patient to find one if they want to be treated over the phone.
Related posts:
- How House, M.D. is affecting patients’ expectations of medical care
- When drug side effects scare patients away from treatment
- Should doctors be paid to e-mail their patients?
- Unnecessary hospital admissions cost money and can harm patients
- Why hospitalized Medicare patients get re-admitted so frequently
- Why too many CT and MRI scans can be dangerous for patients
- A surgeon dumps post-op patients to hospitalists
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This is sort of a ridiculous conclusion, in the context of whether a few docs at a dinner party or a doc he could not reach on the phone could or should have been able to tell him that further evaluation was not necessary:
Would you hire a lawyer or accountant who always provided the most conservative advice with the most expensive consequences?
The answer is of course not. But let’s compare apples to apples. What he should ask is:
Would you call your lawyer or accountant and ask for his (free)advice over the phone (or at a dinner party), to be given without the benefit of an examination of the relevant documents?
The question is not whether or not doctors refer people to the ER to reduce their risk per se, but whether, on a holiday, the day before leaving for a trip out of the country, a physician can or should attempt to diagnose a fracture either (a) on the phone, or (b) without the benefit of an x-ray, because to do otherwise would be an inconvenience to the patient.
Does your accountant provide you with sound advice when asked during a dinner party? Or do you bring all of your financial documents with you so that he can give sound advice?
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