Being (your) family physician...
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5712/rbmfc7(24)443Keywords:
Professional-family Relations, Family Relations, Psychological Adaptation, Terminally IIIAbstract
Can the doctor-patient relationship add up to a family relationship, with benefit to the patient, in certain clinical situations? Luis is 59 years-old and has a son named Abel, who is a family doctor. Given the clinical scenario of weight loss and enlarged lymph nodes, Abel perceives a high degree of suspicion. He recalls the previous behavioral changes that Luis has undergone. All of them started following the medical advice by his son. Abel identifies the fear of Luis to start any research on his health and recognizes the strength and confidence provided by the affection between father and son in a doctor-patient relationship that began casually and unexpectedly. Rather than what he always thought he would do, Abel becomes the attending physician of his own father. The diagnosis reveals a gastric adenocarcinoma. The impact of communicating the bad news and the suffering of the patient could be alleviated if performed by his own son.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Puma JL, Stocking CB, Voie DL, Darling CA. When physicians treat members of their own families. N Engl J Med. 1991; 1290-94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199110313251806 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199110313251806
Eastwood GL. When relatives and friends ask physicians for medical advice: ethical, legal and practical considerations. J Gen Intern Med. 2009; 24(12): 1333-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11606-009-1127-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-009-1127-1
Carroll RJ, Tulsky J, Schuchman M, Snyder L. Should doctors treat their relatives? Ethics case study #21. ACP-ASIM Observer. 1999 [acesso 2011 30 Nov]. Disponível em: http://www.acpinternist.org/archives/1999/01/relative.htm
Hill H, Hill M. When your mother wants a script: the ethics of treating family members. Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. 2011; 24(2): 59-60 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/01720610-201102000-00012
Snyder L, Leffler C; Ethics and Human Rights Committee, American College of Physicians. Ethics Manuel: fifth edition. Ann Intern Med. 2005; 142(7): 560-82 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-142-7-200504050-00014
AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs. Code of Medical Ethics. Opinion 8.19. American Medical Association Press. 2010. [acesso 2011 30 Nov]. Disponível em: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics/opinion819.page?
CRMPR, CFM. Novo código de ética médica. Diário Oficial da União; Poder Executivo. 2009. Seção I: 90-2
Chen FM, Feudtner C, Rhodes LA, Green LA. Role conflicts of physicians and their family members: rules but no rulebook. West J Med. 2011. 175: 236-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ewjm.175.4.236 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/ewjm.175.4.236
Krall EJ. Doctors who doctor self, family and colleagues. Wisconsin Medical Journal. 2008; 107(6): 279-84
Latessa R, Ray L. Should you treat yourself, family and friends?. Family Practice Management. 2005; 41-44
Puma JL, Priest ER. Is there a doctor in the house? An analysis of the practice of physicians’treating their own families. JAMA. 1992; 267: 1810-2. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1992.03480130126037 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1992.03480130126037
Ngo-Metzger Q, August KJ, Srinivasan M, Liao S, Meyskens FL. End-of-life care: guidelines for patient-centered communication. Am Fam Physician. 2008; 77(2): 167-74
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
By submitting a manuscript to the RBMFC, authors retain ownership of the copyright in the article, and authorize RBMFC to publish that manuscript under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license and identify itself as the vehicle of its original publication.
