A woman was offended when her doctor told her that she needed to loose weight. She filed a complaint. The New Hampshire Attorney General's office suggested "that he attend a medical education course and acknowledge that he made a mistake."
The article only gives his side of how the conversation with the patient went - You need to get on a program, join a group of like-minded people and peel off the weight that is going to kill you.
That doesn't sound offensive but who knows what he actually said. Even if it wasn't put diplomatically, how can a doctor giving standard, accepted health advise be considered "a mistake"?
Posted by marybeth at August 24, 2005 02:45 PM Box of RocksIt wasn't. We all know it wasn't.
What is disturbing is that this is one more thing for doctors to worry about vis-a-vis malpractice claims.
Someday, a doctor will be sued for telling a patient that they will eventually die. Perhaps the courts will demand the doctor produce eternal life as a remedy!
Posted by Peter Porcupine at August 25, 2005 11:43 AMFOX news had an interview with the doctor this morning. He said that 60% of doctors (including pediatricians) don't discuss health issues with their patients anymore because of problems like this. He said they will make a note of the obesity in the patient's file but not mention it to the patient.
I don't remember if he said what his source was for this but if it's true, I can see it being a possible source for lawsuits. A doctor diagnosing a problem but doing nothing about it is worse than risking offending someone.
When did people begin believing they had a "right" not to be offended?
Posted by marybeth at August 25, 2005 12:21 PM